The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition by Baker Hughes Company (‘Baker Hughes') of Chart Industries, Inc. (‘Chart'), both headquartered in the US. The approval is conditional upon full compliance with the commitments offered by Baker Hughes and Chart.
The European Commission has opened a formal investigation to assess whether, in the context of the proposed acquisition by XXXLutz of Porta, the parties may have engaged in gun jumping, which would be in breach of the EU Merger Regulation.
Together with the National Competition Authorities of the European Competition Network (ECN), we published today a Joint Statement on the implementation of merger call-in mechanisms. It has become increasingly evident that some concentrations that do not meet mandatory notification thresholds may still have a significant impact on competition, to the detriment of consumers and competitive market dynamics. As more and more Member States introduce call-in mechanisms into their national legal frameworks, this Joint Statement comes at a timely moment.
The three-page Joint Statement recognises that call-in mechanisms can be an effective and proportionate tool to ensure that potentially harmful mergers do not escape scrutiny, while also setting out key principles to enhance legal certainty and predictability for businesses.
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of Xella international S.A. ('Xella') by Holcim Ltd ('Holcim'). The approval is conditional upon full compliance with the commitment offered by Holcim, which entails the full divestment of Holcim's AAC blocks plant in Adjud, Romania.
As part of its ongoing public consultation on the Draft Merger Guidelines (published on 30 April 2026 for replies by 26 June 2026, more information here), DG Competition is organizing an interactive technical stakeholder workshop on key aspects of the draft text of the Merger Guidelines.
The aim of the workshop is to gather views on all sections of the draft text and discuss potential amendments to the final Merger Guidelines.
The Commission takes note of today’s judgments of the General Court which dismissed the actions for annulment brought by Vivendi and Lagardère against two Commission’s decisions from 2023. Those decisions required Vivendi and Lagardère to submit certain internal documents as part of the Commission’s ongoing investigation into whether Vivendi breached EU merger rules by implementing its acquisition of Lagardère before merger approval.
The Commission will carefully study the judgments and reflect on possible next steps.
See also judgment in Lagardère v Commission.
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of BASF's coatings division ('BASF Coatings') by The Carlyle Group Inc. ('Carlyle'). The approval is conditional upon full compliance with the commitments offered by Carlyle, which entails divesting the worldwide polysulfides business of Nouryon Ltd. ('Nouryon') to a suitable purchaser.
The European Commission has unconditionally approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition by Arla Foods amba ('Arla') of Deutsches Milchkontor eG ('DMK') and Drents Overijsselse Coöperatie Kaas U.A.('DOC'). The Commission concluded that the transaction would raise no competition concerns in the European Economic Area ('EEA').
The European Commission has unconditionally approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition by Suzano S.A. of Kimberly Clark IFP NewCo B.V. The Commission concluded that the transaction would raise no competition concerns in the European Economic Area ('EEA').
The fourth issue of 2026 includes the following articles: "Cleared for Take-Off, Subject to Conditions" (looking at the Commission’s conditional approval of Boeing’s acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems following a Phase I investigation) ; and "M.11939 FrieslandCampina/Milcobel – A dairy tale" (which covers the Commission’s first assessment of a merger between dairy cooperatives in the context of a sustained milk shortage, following an in-depth investigation into the dairy sector in Belgium and the Netherlands.)
The European Commission has launched today a public consultation inviting comments on the draft of the new EU Merger Guidelines. These will replace the current Horizontal Merger Guidelines and the Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines. This marks the most significant reform in EU merger control of the past two decades.
See also the consultation's form, as well as the corresponding COMP Flash.
The draft Merger Guidelines will replace the Horizontal Merger Guidelines (published in 2004) and the Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines (published in 2008) (jointly the “Guidelines”). The goal is to ensure that the revised Guidelines are up-to-date and flexible enough to allow the Commission to protect competition under the Merger Regulation in evolving modern market realities, while always respecting the overarching legal framework and contribute to the competitiveness and resilience on the Internal Market. In addition, the revised Guidelines should provide increased transparency and predictability to the business community as to how the Commission assesses mergers.
The purpose of this consultation is to gather stakeholders' and citizens' views on the draft Merger Guidelines, which will inform the final text of the Merger Guidelines.
See also the Commission's press release, as well as the corresponding COMP Flash.
The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed creation of a joint venture between UPM-Kymmene Corporation ('UPM') and Sappi Limited ('Sappi'). The Commission is concerned that the transaction may reduce competition in certain markets for the production and supply of communication paper and specialty paper in the European Economic Area ('EEA') and result in higher prices, less choice or reduced quality.
The European Commission has unconditionally approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition by RTL Deutschland GmbH ('RTL') of Sky German Holdings GmbH ('Sky DACH'). The Commission concluded that the transaction would raise no competition concerns in the European Economic Area ('EEA').
The European Commission has approved unconditionally, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition by Clarios of three secondary recycling lead smelters, operated by Ecobat in Germany (Braubach and Freiberg) and Austria (Arnoldstein). The Commission concluded that the transaction would raise no competition concerns in the European Economic Area ('EEA').
The Commission takes note of the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union upholding the 2023 judgments of the General Court and thus the 2019 Commission's decision approving, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of Innogy by E.ON.
In its judgment, the Court of Justice confirmed that the Commission was correct in assessing the different parts of the asset swap as two separate concentrations.
The Court of Justice confirmed that the Commission and the General Court were correct in assessing the transaction within the boundaries of the EUMR, and not through Regulation 1/2003.
Furthermore, the Court of Justice confirmed that the analytical framework applied by the Commission was sufficiently and adequately explained, and that the General Court did not reverse the burden of proof with respect to submitting evidence on the effects of the transaction.
See also Curia's press release.
The Commission unconditionally cleared Mars' USD 36 billion acquisition of Kellanova following an in- depth Phase II investigation.
The investigation focused on a bargaining theory of harm, namely whether combining Mars' brands with Kellanova's salty snacks (Pringles) and cereals (Kellogg's) brands would give the merged entity excessive leverage in negotiations with retailers, potentially leading to higher consumer prices.
On 5 March 2026, DG Competition will host a conference to discuss key aspects of the ongoing review of the Merger Guidelines. This event will bring together leading experts and stakeholders to explore the latest developments and challenges in EU merger control.
The conference will debate three broad themes:
Following a request by the Luxembourg competition authority pursuant to Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation, the European Commission conducted an expost review of the acquisition of Boissons Heintz by Brasserie Nationale.
The Transaction was cleared in Phase I, subject to the divestiture of Boissons Heintz’s on-trade activities. This divestment business has been acquired by a Belgian wholesaler, Brasserie Maziers, that the Commission approved. This remedy enables Brasserie Maziers to enter into Luxembourg and contributes to the further integration of the internal market.
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition by Universal Music Group N.V. ('UMG') of Downtown Music Holdings LLC ('Downtown'). The approval is conditional upon full compliance with the commitments offered by the companies, which entail the full divestment of Downtown's royalty accounting platform Curve Royalty Systems, Ltd ('Curve').
