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EU: Commission clears Shell refinery sell-offs

By  |  September 2, 2013

The European Commission announced Monday it has cleared the buyout of several of oil giant Shell Deutschland Oil’s refinery assets within Germany to Sweden’s Nynas AB. According to a press release by the watchdog, the deal does not post a significant threat to competition.

In a statement, commissioner Joaquin Almunia justified the deal’s clearance with the fact that were the buyout to not take place, the refineries, located in Harburg, Germany, would just shut down. Such a situation would “dramatically” reduce production, he said.

The refineries produce a certain kind of oil used in various products including rubber and adhesives, as well as transformer oils.

According to the commission, the closure of such a refinery would lead to higher prices of such products or consumers.

The parties were issued a statement of objections regarding the merger last June, to which Shell and Nynas responded one month later.

The Commission did not detail the transaction’s financial plan.

Full Content: Europa

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