The European Commission has cleared the acquisition of the Heiploeg Group, a Dutch supplier of shrimps, by the Dutch banks ABN AMRO, Rabobank and Friesland Bank together with the Icelandic bank Landsbanki The Commission ruled that the takeover would not raise competition concerns because it will not significantly alter the market structure.
The joint venture by the three banks completed a EUR 157 million refinancing effort, for Heiploeg, allowing it greater flexibility in borrowings and repayment. The three-year facility replaced the existing syndicated bank facility and will provide Heiploeg with the capital it requires to achieve its growth potential in the years ahead. "The refinancing is proof that, even in these difficult economic times, the parties concerned have confidence in our approach to realise efficiency gains in combination with sustainability and innovation," Heiploeg CEO Jan-Ernst Veenman said in June when the deal was first announced.
Neither ABN AMRO, Rabobank, Friesland Bank nor Landsbanki are active in the same field as the Heiploeg Group, the Commission found. It also analysed potential spill-over effects since ABN AMRO, Rabobank, Friesland Bank and Landsbanki are active in the markets for retail banking, corporate banking, investment banking and financial services, but concluded that any coordination the banks in breach of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU was highly unlikely, as the joint venture only represents a small part of the parents' portfolio, and is unrelated to their core activities.
