Press Release: Mergers: Commission approves proposed acquisition of former ICI’s adhesives and electronic materials businesses by Henkel

On 15 February, 2008, the European Commission cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition by Henkel KGaA of Germany of the entire adhesives and electronic materials business (the 'A&E Businesses') that Akzo Nobel N.V. of the Netherlands recently acquired, when it bought Imperial Chemical Industries PLC of the UK (ICI). After a market investigation, the Commission concluded that the operation would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it.