Mergers: Commission approves the acquisition of an IBM Corp unit

The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition by Dassault Systèmes of France of a unit of IBM Corp of the United States that currently distributes its Product Life Management (PLM) software products. PLM software and solutions are used by companies to manage the life cycle of their products.

After examining the operation, the Commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area or any substantial part of it.

Under the proposed operation, Dassault Systèmes will buy IBM Systèmes PLM software business (IBM DS) from IBM Corp. IBM DS distributes the Dassault PLM software products under a contractual arrangement with the French company.

The Commission’s investigation showed that Dassault Systèmes and IBM DS are not regarded as competitors since under their contractual arrangement they each generally focus on selling to different types of customers. It also showed that the market structure in respect of the supply of PLM software solutions is not significantly affected by the transaction, as IBM DS only distributes DS PLM software solutions to a defined set of customers pursuant to specific and limited distribution rights.

Furthe information relating to this case is available here.