German’s competition authorities are to scrutinise Magna International’s planned purchase of the convertible roof business of insolvent rival Karmann.
A spokesman for the federal cartel office in Bonn said it was likely to conduct a comprehensive examination, signaling that conditions could be imposed on any deal.
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The antitrust regulator had previoulsy indicated that Magna’s plans prompted concerns due to the recent cosolidation of suppliers of convertible car roofs. Such systems require specialised knowledge due to the increased safety risk to cabriolets from side collisions or rollovers.
Early this year, Germany’s Webasto created a company with EUR320m (USD434m) in annual sales after acquiring the convertible roof business of Edscha, which filed for insolvency last February.
Family-owned Karmann was forced into insolvency two months later. Magna first entered the cabriolet roof business in 2005 with the acquisition of Porsche’s CTS unit.
