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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