Commission clears acquisition of BASF's industrial coatings business by AkzoNobel

31/10/2016 - The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of the industrial coatings business of German chemicals company BASF by AkzoNobel of the Netherlands. BASF's industrial coatings business develops, manufactures and sells various industrial coating products. AkzoNobel is a global manufacturer of a wide range of paints, performance coatings and specialty chemicals. Both companies manufacture and supply industrial coatings, which are applied to various substrates to improve surface properties, including appearance, adhesion, corrosion resistance and scratch resistance. Their activities overlap in particular in the area of coil coatings, applied to aluminium or steel where they have a relatively strong combined market position. However, the Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns, because the merged entity will continue to face strong competition from other suppliers present on these markets. Although the companies are the leading suppliers of coil coating paint systems for domestic appliances, a number of well-established or expanding suppliers remain active in the market and customers are large sophisticated buyers.