The European Commission has given its approval to the proposed acquisition of truck-maker MAN SE by Volkswagen AG which already controls Scania.
For heavy trucks, the merged entity would become the number one supplier in Europe and market leader with high market shares in a number of national markets.
However, the commission concluded that the proposed transaction would not significantly impede effective competition because the merged entity would continue to face strong competition from other well established manufacturers.
It said that its investigation showed that European heavy truck and bus markets would remain competitive after the merger, because the merged entity would continue to face strong competition from other well established manufacturers such as Daimler, Volvo, Iveco and DAF trucks – and in buses Daimler, Volvo, Iveco, Solaris and VDL.
Moreover, it said, the vast majority of competitors and customers confirmed to the Commission that there had been no substantial changes in the heavy truck or bus markets since the Commission authorised a merger between MAN and Scania in 2006 – although that merger never took place.
