Wax merger aborted
25 Apr 2005
The German firm of Sasol Wax and Total of
The two companies notified the European Commission of the proposed joint venture on
Following the news, the Commission opened an in-depth investigation into the proposed joint venture because it had serious concerns that the transaction could significantly impede effective competition in the common market.
At the time, the Commission said that Sasol was already the clear market leader for paraffin waxes in the European Economic Area (EEA) and the creation of the joint venture, which would integrate Total’s wax activities with those of Sasol, would strengthen this position significantly. Total was to have supplied the joint venture with slack wax.
The initial EC investigation into the merger also showed that the European markets for paraffin waxes and micro waxes were capacity constrained, and that such constraints may have increased through the transaction.
