The European Commission has cleared two merger cases — a joint venture between Sumitomo and Ennoconn, and the acquisition of joint control of Volue by AFK, Advent and TA — under the EU Merger Regulation.
Sumitomo Corporation of Japan and Taiwan’s Ennoconn Group have been approved to create a joint venture focused mainly on facility management and engineering services for semiconductor factories in Japan, the Commission said.
The deal was cleared because it was not expected to raise competition concerns, given its limited impact on the European Economic Area (EEA), it added.
The Commission reviewed the case under its simplified merger procedure, which is used for transactions considered unlikely to harm competition.
Volue deal also cleared
In a separate decision, the Commission approved the acquisition of joint control of Volue AS by Norway’s Arendals Fossekompani ASA (AFK) and US investment firms Advent International and TA Associates Management.
The transaction relates mainly to software applications in the energy sector, the Commission said.
The watchdog concluded the deal would not raise competition concerns because the companies’ combined and individual market positions would remain limited.
More details on the cases are published in the Commission’s public case register under numbers M.12360 and M.12386.
