Press release
The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition by the Taiwanese company Foxconn of a subsidiary of US computer manufacturer Dell in Poland. 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.
Foxconn provides external assembly services, so-called electronic manufacturing services ("EMS"), for electronic products such as computers, mobile phones, or televisions to original equipment manufacturers ("OEM"). Dell's subsidiary in Lodz (Poland) currently supplies Dell's in-house production of computers. As a result of the transaction, the production capacity of the Polish subsidiary will be transferred to Foxconn.
The Commission's examination of the proposed transaction showed that the overlaps between Foxconn and the Polish subsidiary in the assembly of electronic products are not so important as to significantly strengthen Foxconn's competitive position. Furthermore, the Commission found that after the operation Foxconn would continue to face several effective competitors. The Commission's market investigation also confirmed that capacity on the EMS market is not constrained, that entry from neighbouring markets is possible and that OEMs have a strong bargaining position vis-à-vis EMS providers. Therefore, the Commission concluded that the transaction would not raise competition concerns.
The transaction was notified to the Commission on 24 August 2010. More information on the case will be available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/competition/elojade/isef/case_details.cfm?proc_code=2_M_5765
