Commission clears acquisition of Weyerhaeuser's pulp business by International Paper Company

21/10/2016 - The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of the pulp business of Weyerhaeuser Company by International Paper Company ("IP"), both of the US. Weyerhaeuser's pulp business comprises the major part of the Weyerhaeuser Group's Cellulose Fibers business segment. It consists in particular of five mills, located in North America, and two converting facilities, one located in the US and one in Poland, that turn fluff pulp into a specialty fiber. These mills produce fluff pulp, softwood pulp, and specialty pulp for a number of consumer applications including diapers and hygiene products. IP is a packaging and paper company that produces containerboard, corrugated boxes, pulp, consumer packaging (carton board), cups and white paper, with manufacturing operations in North America, the European Economic Area, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. The companies' activities overlap in the market for untreated fluff pulp. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns given the presence of strong competitors and the fact that there is an increasing capacity for the production of fluff pulp, as a reaction to an increasing demand for diapers and hygiene products in emerging markets.The operation was examined under the normal merger review procedure.