Brussels, 1 March 2023
The European Commission has referred to the Belgian national competition authority the assessment of the proposed acquisition of joint control of Pannoc Chemie NV (‘Pannoc’) by ACE Pharmaceuticals Belgium NV (‘ACE Belgium’) and Febelco CV, all of Belgium.
Pannoc develops, manufactures, packages and sells medicines, medical devices and cosmetics in the form of creams, salves, gels, lotions and solutions. ACE Belgium is a joint venture between Pharmentum NV of Belgium and ACE Pharma Group BV of the Netherlands. ACE Belgium distributes medicines of the ACE Pharma Group BV, which develops, produces, registers and sells medicines. Febelco is a wholesale distributor of pharmaceutical products.
The Belgian competition authority asked the Commission to refer the proposed concentration to it. It considers that the transaction may threaten to significantly affect competition in markets related to the production and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Belgium.
The evidence gathered by the Commission confirmed that the conditions for a referral under Article 9 of the EU Merger Regulation were fulfilled and that the Belgian competition authority is best placed to assess the effects of the transaction in Belgium. The Commission has therefore decided to refer the case to Belgium. The Belgian competition authority will deal with the case under national law.
More information is available on the Commission’s competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.10967.
Source – EU Commission