The European Commission has cleared Apax Partners’ purchase of Gerresheimer’s primary plastic packaging business after finding the deal would not raise competition concerns.
The acquisition gives Apax Partners LLP — a UK-based investment firm — sole control of the unit, the Commission announced on Thursday.
The transaction relates mainly to the supply of primary plastic packaging, which typically refers to the packaging that directly contains a product, such as bottles or containers.
The Commission said it approved the deal under the EU Merger Regulation after concluding the companies are not active in the same markets or in vertically related markets, meaning they do not operate at different stages of the same supply chain.
Review completed under simplified procedure
The notified transaction was assessed under the Commission’s simplified merger review procedure, which is used for cases that are unlikely to raise competition issues.
Further details are published in the Commission’s public case register under case number M.12602.
