New Phase in European Commission’s Investigation into Friesland Foods and Campina Merger

The European Commission will now be investigating various market segments in detail to establish whether the proposed merger could lead to market dominance. This phase is expected to last between four and five months.

18/07/08 The investigation being carried out by the European Commission into the merger between Friesland Foods and Campina is entering a new phase. Following an exploratory period of five weeks, which started on 12 June, the Commission announced that it would be embarking on an in-depth follow-up investigation. This procedure is customary with mergers of this size.

On 12 June, Friesland Foods and Campina submitted a huge file to the Directorate General for Competition of the European Commission in Brussels. One of the Directorate’s responsibilities is to review mergers. The file describes all the markets in which Friesland Foods and Campina operate.

The European Commission will now be investigating various market segments in detail to establish whether the proposed merger could lead to market dominance. This phase is expected to last between four and five months. The European Commission is expected to give its final decision in the fourth quarter.

The European Commission’s decision to proceed with a follow-up investigation does not come as a surprise. The file is comprehensive and it could reasonably be expected that a follow-up investigation would be launched for the various market segments.