The European Commission has cleared Mercedes-Benz Group China, BMW Brilliance Automotive and Seres Group to take joint control of Beijing IONCHI New Energy Technology, known as Ionchi.
Ionchi is a China-based company involved in running public high-power charging infrastructure and charging service networks for electric vehicles, the Commission noted in its release on Thursday.
Mercedes and BMW already jointly control Ionchi, with Seres joining them as a joint owner under the approved deal.
The Commission said it found no competition concerns because the transaction would have a limited impact on the European Economic Area — the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
Limited effect in Europe
The case was assessed under the EU Merger Regulation, the framework that allows the Commission to review corporate deals for potential effects on competition.
The notification was handled through a simplified merger review procedure, which is typically used for transactions considered unlikely to raise competition issues.
Further details are available in the Commission’s public case register under case number M.12510.
