April 3rd, 2013

Minerals, Real Estate Services, Shipping Market for Transportation of Dry Bulk Cargo, Containers, Vehicles and Spare Parts, Black Coal, Provision of Telephone Directory Information Services, Production of Elastomeric Sealing and Household Cleaning Systems

Merger

Phase Ι (Article 8 par. 3 of L. 3959/2011)

Clearance

Acquiring company(ies)

1. Rhône Capital L.L.C
2. Kyriakopoulos Family

Target company

S&B Industrial Minerals S.A

The competent Chamber of the Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC), with its no. 565/VII/2013 unanimous decision, approved, pursuant to articles 5-10 of L. 3959/2011, the notified concentration regarding the acquisition by the company “Rhône Capital L.L.C” and some members of Kyriakopoulos family, through the limited liability company “Delphi Luxembourg Holdings Sarl” (Delphi), of joint control over the company “S&B Industrial Minerals S.A.” (S&B).

The notified concentration constitutes a merger, pursuant to Article 5 of L. 3959/2011, given that it leads to a permanent change of control over the company S&B, and in particular to the change from sole control of the Kyriakopoulos Family to a joint control of the Kyriakopoulos Family and Rhône Capital LLC (through the special-purpose company, Delphi). S&B is a mining company, which operates mainly in Greece in the fields of extraction, processing, distribution, and supply of industrial minerals for a wide range of industrial applications. For the reasons set out in detail in the Decision, the Commission considered that, in the absence of horizontal overlap in the activities of the involved undertakings, access of actual or potential competitors to supplies (inputs) or markets (customer base) is not substantially restricted as a result of the merger under examination. In addition, the concentration will not restrict the ability and / or incentives of undertakings operating at upstream or downstream relevant markets to compete with each other. Finally, when examining the market for black carbon and in particular black pigment - an upstream market in relation to the market of continuous casting flux (CSF) within the EEA, it was estimated that the notified concentration cannot result to customer foreclosure for competitive companies active at the upstream markets, given the plethora of alternative industrial applications of black carbon / black pigment, and in any case of the insignificant loss of sales (i.e. the sales to S&B) that is likely to occur for the competitors of Rhone, as a result of the notified concentration.

By its decision, the Hellenic Competition Commission considered that the notified merger, does not raise serious doubts as to its compatibility with the competition rules  in the  relevant markets concerned.

Final. No appeal.

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