The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Mobil Oil Austria by Agip Austria, which is wholly controlled by ENI of Italy.
After examining the operation, the Commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it.
ENI is active in the exploration, production, supply, transmission, storage, distribution and trade of natural gas as well as the exploration and production of oil. Mobil Oil Austria markets, supplies and distributes refined petroleum products. Mobil Oil Austria is currently fully owned by ExxonMobil Central Europe Holding of Germany.
The Commission examined the effects of the acquisition in particular as regards retail sales of motor fuels in Austria. The Commission’s investigation found that the combined firm will continue to face several strong, effective competitors with significant market shares. Consequently, the transaction does not give rise to competition concerns.
The transaction was notified to the Commission on 20 April 2010.
