14 May 2012 --- The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Skånemejerier AB, a subsidiary of the Swedish cooperative Skånemejerier ek. För by Lactalis, both active in the dairy sector. The Commission's investigation concluded that the transaction would not raise competition concerns, because it will not significantly alter the market structure.

The Commission examined the competitive effects of the proposed acquisition in the markets for dairy products, notably the supply of cream and the procurement of raw milk in Sweden.

The Commission's investigation showed that the proposed transaction would not significantly alter the market structure in relation to dairy products and that the merged entity would face competitive pressure from a number of credible competitors. It also showed that the proposed transaction was unlikely to lead to a lessening of competition in relation to the procurement of raw milk, since farmers will be able to sell raw milk to third parties to the same extent as before the transaction.

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

The transaction was notified to the Commission on 30 March 2012.

Lactalis is active internationally in the dairy sector. Its core business is the production and marketing of drinking milk, butter, cheeses, fresh dairy, cream and industrial dairy products.

Skanemejerier is active in the dairy sector and especially in the markets for the production and marketing of drinking milk, fresh dairy products, cheeses, cream, butter and juice.

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 notified 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_6522