Cargo Business Newswire

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

EU watchdog approves CMA CGM's purchase of NOL

The European Union on Friday approved French container-shipping giant CMA CGM's $2.4 billion acquisition of Neptune Orient Lines Ltd. on the condition the merged company withdraw the Singapore-based shipping company from a
separate alliance.

Regulators have been cautious about approving deals that might give carriers concentration of market share in various alliances they have long had with competitors. The alliances, akin to code sharing in the airline business, help individual operators save costs by sharing ships and port operations.

The European Commission, the EU's antitrust

NOL leave the G6 line shipping alliance.

"Today's decision ensures that the takeover will not lead to price increases for the many EU companies using these container shipping services," said EU antitrust watchdog Margrethe Vestager.

CMA CGM previously said it intended to withdraw NOL from the G6 alliance, but the formal commitment to do so was necessary to remove the risk of anti-competitive effects, the EU said.

For more of The Wall Street Journal story: www.wsj.com