Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Spanish baking wholesaler Panrico by investment manager Oaktree

European Commission - Press release

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Spanish baking wholesaler Panrico by investment manager Oaktree

Brussels, 19 December 2011 - The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of the Spanish supplier of the baking industry Panrico by US based alternative investment manager Oaktree. The Commission found that the transaction would not raise competition concerns because there are no overlaps between the parties' activities.

The proposed transaction does not result in horizontal overlaps between the parties activities, since Oaktree has no company in its portfolio that is active in the same markets as Panrico. The Commission examined the vertical relationship between one of Oaktree's portfolio companies Nordenia with activities in flexible packaging and Panrico's activities in bakery products.

However, due to Nordenia's low market share in the upstream market for flexible packaging for bread, biscuits and cakes, the merged entity would lack the ability to shout out competitors from supplies. Moreover, the Commission's investigation confirmed that the proposed transaction would not lead to any material change in the structure of the market.

The Commission therefore concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA)¹ or any substantial part of it.

The transaction was notified to the Commission on 16 November 2011

Background on companies

Oaktree is a global alternative and non-traditional investment manager engaged in businesses in a variety of industries, including packaging, manufacturing, healthcare, clothing, travel, real estate, exploration and mining, food, telecommunications, media and entertainment.

Panrico is active in the manufacture and wholesale distribution of bread, pastries and biscuits in Spain and Portugal.

Merger control rules and procedures

The Commission has the duty to assess mergers and acquisitions involving companies with a turnover above certain thresholds (see Article 1 of the Merger Regulation) and to prevent concentrations that would significantly impede effective competition in the EEA or any substantial part of it.

The vast majority of mergers do not pose competition problems and are cleared after a routine review. From the moment a transaction is notified, the Commission generally has a total of 25 working days to decide whether to grant approval (Phase I) or to start an in-depth investigation (Phase II).

A non-confidential version of today's decision will be available at:

http://ec.europa.eu/competition/elojade/isef/case_details.cfm?proc_code=2_M_6430

¹ :

The EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.