Economy - published on 03 July 2020
Source: European Commission Spokesperson’s Service
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of the European inland shipping business (“Imperial Shipping Group”) from Imperial Mobility International B.V.
& Co. KG and its subsidiaries (“Imperial Group”), of the Netherlands, by Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln AG (‘HGK’) of Germany. The Imperial Shipping Group is currently controlled by the Imperial Group
and is active in inland navigation, transhipment/stevedoring services, storage, transport logistics, ships clearance and trade in vehicles, servicing customers in Germany, Benelux and Northeast
France. HGK is controlled by Stadtwerke Köln GmbH (“SWK”) of Germany and is active in inland waterway transportation, transhipment/stevedoring services at inland terminals, inland port
infrastructure, rail transportation, rail infrastructure, freight forwarding and short sea shipping in Germany, with a focus on Cologne and the Rhine area. The Commission concluded that the
proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns, given the companies’ moderate combined market positions in the inland waterways transport market and stevedoring/transhipment services
markets resulting from the proposed transaction, and the presence of a number of strong players providing such services. The Commission further considers it unlikely that vertical or conglomerate
anti-competitive effects would arise from the transaction. The transaction was examined under the normal merger review procedure. More information is available on the Commission’s competition website, in the
public case register under
the case number
M.9853.
