The Commission is expected to set an initial Phase I merger review deadline of 2 October for Deutsche Bank's planned acquisition of ABN Amro's Dutch commercial banking operations from Fortis.
The European Commission is expected to set an initial Phase I merger review deadline of 2 October for Deutsche Bank's planned acquisition of ABN Amro's Dutch commercial banking operations from Fortis. The transaction was notified in Brussels on 28 August.
The deal, which was announced on 2 July, is a consequence of the commitments undertaken by Fortis to obtain merger control clearance last October when it acquired a chunk of ABN Amro (see related Mlex case file here).
On 18 August, when tackled by investors in Amsterdam who believed Fortis to have sold the Dutch assets too cheaply to Deutsche Bank, Fortis boss Maurice Lippens said his company had wanted more time to find a suitable purchaser, but asserted the commission had not been willing to grant an extension to the divestment deadline, nine months from the October 2007 decision (see MLex story of 19 August here).
Competition Commission Neelie Kroes later stated that she had received no extension request.
In addition to merger clearance by the commission, the transaction is also subject to authorisations from the Dutch central bank, and is expected to close in the beginning of the fourth quarter this year.
The deal was notified as a full Form CO indicating that at this stage it will be reviewed under the normal, as opposed to the simplified, procedure.
The commission’s case file number in this matter is M.5296.
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