The European Commission takes note of the judgment of the General Court of 5 October 2020, which confirmed the Commission's decision prohibiting the acquisition by HeidelbergCement and Schwenk Zement, through their 50/50 full-function joint venture Duna-Dráva Cement ("DDC”), of two Cemex subsidiaries in Hungary and Croatia.
The General Court fully upheld the Commission's 2017 prohibition decision under the EU Merger Regulation.
The General Court confirmed the Commission's analysis of cement markets as geographically differentiated markets, in view in particular of transport costs and security of supply concerns.
The judgment also confirmed that the Commission was correct in finding that the takeover of Cemex Croatia by its close competitor DDC, would have significantly reduced competition and likely have led to higher prices for grey cement in Croatia. The General Court further confirmed that the remedies offered by HeidelbergCement and Schwenk – which consisted of granting access to a cement terminal in southern Croatia – were insufficient as they would not have allowed a supplier to compete effectively and on a lasting basis with the merged company.
