EC delays ruling on Amcor's acquisition of Rio packaging unit
Europe's competition watchdog has delayed its ruling on Amcor's $2.44 billion acquisition of Rio Tinto Alcan's packaging unit. Amcor said on Thursday the European Commission had delayed a ruling on antitrust and competition issues by two weeks, until December 14. Shares in Amcor were up six cents, or 1.07 per cent, at $5.69, in mid-morning trade. The EC requested an extension to the evaluation period and its review of the need for a potential remedy for competition concerns, Amcor said in a statement.
Amcor stands to become a global packaging giant with 85 per cent of its earnings from offshore after it secures Rio's Alcan Packaging food unit in Europe, global pharmaceuticals, Asia food and global tobacco units. Amcor said it believed no part of the transaction would have an adverse impact on competition, the company said.
But Amcor anticipated that any remedy required by the EC would involve the divestment of an Amcor flexible packaging plant with sales of less than $US100 million ($A107.57 million). A possible sale of a single plant would not have a material impact on synergies from the acquisition, estimated to be between $200 million and $250 million within three years, Amcor said. The combined Amcor and Alcan packaging businesses in Europe currently have sales of around $US4.8 billion ($A5.16 billion) in 75 plants.
Initial feedback on the acquisition from the US Department of Justice also is pending, and the deal is expected to close by January 31, 2010. Amcor already has secured regulatory approvals for the acquisition from authorities in Australia, Canada, Russia, Turkey and the Ukraine.
Source: AAP
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