Brussels, 24 August 2023
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control of Nutrinova B.V. (‘Nutrinova JV’) of the Netherlands by Mitsui & Co, Ltd., (‘Mitsui’) of Japan and Celanese Corporation (‘Celanese’) of the US.
Nutrinova JV, currently solely controlled by Celanese, is mainly active in the production and supply of the sweetener acesulfame potassium (‘Ace-K’) and the preservatives potassium sorbate and sorbic acid. Mitsui is a trading, business management and project development company active in sectors such as basic and performance chemicals and food resources. Celanese is a global producer of high-performance engineered polymers that are used in a variety of applications, as well as acetyl products, which are used as intermediate chemicals for major industries.
The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would not raise competition concerns, given the very limited overlaps between the companies’ activities. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure.
More information is available on the Commission’s competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.11187.
Source – EU Commission