CCI neutralises Anti-competitive effects of Linde-Praxair combination
Published: Sep 18, 2018
By TIOLCORPLAWS News Service
NEW DELHI, SEPT 18, 2018: On January 11, 2018, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) received a notice jointly given by Linde Aktiengesellschaft (Linde) and Praxair, Inc. (Praxair) (collectively, Parties) in relation to the combination of Linde and Praxair under a newly incorporated holding company, which would be owned by the Parties’ current shareholders.
Linde, headquartered in Munich, Germany, is an international gases and engineering company and is primarily active in industrial gases, medical gases, specialty gases and the related engineering and services sectors. Praxair, headquartered in Connecticut, USA, is an international gases company and is primarily active in manufacture and supply
Based on its investigation, the CCI was of the opinion that the proposed combination is likely to have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in some markets in India but the same could be addressed by way of modifications to the proposed combination. Accordingly, the Commission approved the proposed combination u/s 31(7) of the Competition Act. The CCI proposes the following divestments to be implemented by the parties:
1. Divestment of Linde India's entire shareholding in Bellary Oxygen Company Pvt Ltd (Belloxy), a joint venture between Linde India and Inox Air Products Limited;
2. Divestment of Praxair's three on-site plants in the East Region, namely, Tata 1 and Tata 2 and 3 located at Jamshedpur and two cylinder filing stations located at Asansol and Kolkata; and
3. Divestment of Linde's one on-site plant in the South Region, namely, JSW – 2 located at Bellary, Karnataka and two cylinder filing stations located at Hyderabad and Chennai.
Such remedies should be implemented by way of sale and transfer of respective businesses to an independent entity(ies), which meets the parameters prescribed in the order of the CCI.
The remedies ordered by the CCI aim to eliminate the substantial overlap in terms of presence of the Parties in the affected regions and for establishment of independent competitor(s) or strengthening of the existing competitor(s) by ensuring that they have an integrated presence in markets for industrial gases encompassing tonnage, bulk and cylinder businesses.
