Germany’s Cartel Office says it will take until the end of September before issuing a decision on General Motors’ proposed alliance with PSA Peugeot Citroen.
Although GM insists the Bundeskartellamt “does not see any competition law issues,” the German body has decided to look in depth into the joint venture, which falls under its jurisdiction rather than authorities in Brussels.
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“We decided to go into [an in] depth investigation, meaning second phase,” a Cartel Office spokesman told just-auto from its headquarters in Bonn. “After one month in Germany, we have to decide to give either clearance or a formal letter…or that we go into the second phase.
“For sure, because of the turnovers of the companies, it should be a European case in Brussels, but this kind of joint venture does not fall under European merger control. That has to do with the organisation of the joint venture as it is not a so-called full control joint venture – it is just the buying of some products that are organised in a common way.
“We have an on-going merger procedure to the end of September – that is also a deadline that can be prolonged.”
The Bundeskartellamt noted not every such procedure was “black and white,” but added its evaluation of the GM/PSA alliance was “quite normal,” a position echoed by GM.
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By GlobalData“The German competition authorities have informed us they will continue the review of the proposed transaction between GM and PSA Peugeot Citroen,” said a statement sent to just-auto from Germany. “They emphasised to us they will need some more time to gather all the necessary information from third parties.
“Going through this process is a standard procedure in conjunction with strategic alliances. The Bundeskartellamt explicitly stated the continued review process did not mean they see any competition law issues. The process could take as long as the end of September, but the companies will continue to fully cooperate with the authorities to allow the Bundeskartellamt to reach a decision earlier.”
PSA and GM want to co-operate closely in areas such as business development, logistics and purchasing, although the proposed alliance has made European unions twitchy about any potential job implications.
Unions previously said they will set up a joint worker representative steering group
in parallel with the alliance’s own such body, while they have also requested more information concerning sites, production and employment.
