COMPETITION COUNCIL CLEARS ACQUISITION BY GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY OF GMC CONSOLIDATION

On 4 March 2014, the Competition Council (the Council) cleared acquisition by General Electric Company of 100 per cent GMC Consolidation LLC shares.

General Electric Company acquires a part of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. business related to production and provision of cell culture products, supressor genes and magnetic micro particles.

Both companies are foreign undertakings. In the business year proceeding the merger they both had income in the Lithuanian markets. General Electric Company had to notify the Council about the merger because the aforementioned income exceeded the aggregate income indicators established in the Lithuanian Law on Competition.

Having evaluated all the circumstances related to the merger, the Council acknowledged that the intended merger will not create or strengthen the dominant position, or significantly restrict competition in the relevant markets.

Notes

(1) Mergers (Concentrations) are cases when two independent undertakings merge or when one undertaking gains control over another. As these changes may restrict effective competition in a relevant market, mergers involving firms that exceed turnover limits established in the Law on Competition must be cleared by the Council. The Council authorises only such mergers that will not have significant adverse effects on the conditions of competition.

(2) Control means any rights arising from laws or transactions that entitle a legal or natural person to exert a decisive influence on the activity of an undertaking, including the right of ownership to all or part of the assets of the undertaking or the right to use all or part of such assets; other rights which confer a decisive influence on the decisions or the composition of the undertaking’s personnel.