EU approves Lenovo's acquisition of Medion

[News_Editor]

EU approves Lenovo's acquisition of Medion

2011-07-27 01:34:08 GMT+7 (ICT)

BRUSSELS (BNO NEWS) -- The European Union (EU) announced on Tuesday that its Commission has approved computer tech group Lenovo's acquisition of Medion.

Under the EU Merger Regulation, the Commission concluded after reviewing the operation that there will still be strong and effective competitors in the market after the merger between Germany's electronic equipment supplier Medion and China-based Lenovo.

"The Commission's assessment revealed that Lenovo and Medion combined market shares are generally moderate and that a number of credible competitors will remain active for those products," the EU said.

In addition, it explained that the main impact of the proposed operation would be in the PC markets in Germany and in Denmark, in particular for desktop and portable PCs. However, the combined market shares of the merged entity remain moderate and it will continue to face strong and effective competitors such as Acer, HP or Asus.

The Commission's examination showed that the parties' activities overlap for desktop and portable PCs, PC monitors and certain computer accessories and peripherals. As a result, the Commission concluded that the agreement would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area or any substantial part of it.

Lenovo is a Chinese manufacturer of desktop and notebook PCs, workstations, servers, storage drives and IT management software, and a provider of IT services.

According to media reports, Lenovo would be acquiring Medion - which produces displays, memory and storage devices and printers among other electronic equipment - for approximately $900 million, although the Chinese company had initially value the transaction at about $600 million last month.

The Commission, in 1989, was given the power to assess mergers and acquisitions involving companies with a turnover above certain thresholds Its duty is to prevent concentrations that would significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area or any substantial part of it.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-07-27