Background
According to the merger notification (BWB/Z-6918), the notifying party Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp (“Wabtec”) intends to indirectly acquire all of the shares in and sole control of Couplers HoldCo AB (“Dellner”).
The planned merger is in Industry Sector C - Manufacture of railway vehicles and transport equipment (detailed information is available in the merger notification).
AFCA investigations and competition concerns
In the course of its merger examination, the AFCA gathered large amounts of data and questioned the merger parties’ customers and competitors, as well as other market participants. Specifically, the AFCA fears that a considerable reduction in horizontal competition intensity could have a negative impact on competition, resulting in higher prices and reduced incentive to innovate. This is partly attributable to the high market shares of the involved companies, with the potential for an even stronger market position, and high market entry barriers for emerging market participants.
In conclusion, the two official parties – the AFCA and the Federal Cartel Prosecutor – found that the merger could not be cleared in Phase I in its current form but required an in-depth Phase II review by the Cartel Court. The two official parties therefore filed a request for examination with the Cartel Court prior to expiry of the Phase I deadline.