Brussels, 21 August 2023
The European Commission has accepted the requests submitted by three EU Member States and one EFTA Member State to assess the proposed acquisition of Nasdaq’s European power trading and clearing business by European Energy Exchange AG (‘EEX’) under the EU Merger Regulation (‘EUMR’).
EEX, a German subsidiary of Deutsche Börse AG, is the leading energy exchange in Europe. It develops, operates and connects markets for energy and commodity products. Nasdaq Power, a Swedish and Norwegian subsidiary of Nasdaq, Inc., provides a regulated marketplace offering trading and clearing services of Nordic, German and French futures contracts for electricity as well as for EU emission allowances.
The proposed acquisition does not reach the notification thresholds set out in the EUMR, and it was not notifiable in any Member State. Denmark and Finland submitted initial referral requests to the Commission pursuant to Article 22(1) of the EUMR on their own initiative. This provision allows Member States to request the Commission to examine a merger that does not have an EU dimension but affects trade within the single market and threatens to significantly affect competition within the territory of the Member States making the request. Other EU Member States and countries of the European Economic Area had the opportunity to join the requests. Subsequently, Sweden and Norway joined the initial referral requests.
On the basis of the information available to the Commission at this early stage, and without prejudice to the outcome of its full investigation, the Commission considers that the transaction meets the criteria for referral under Article 22 of the EUMR. In particular, the transaction appears to combine the only two providers of services facilitating the on-exchange trading and subsequent clearing of Nordic power contracts. Such services allow for the use of long-term energy contracts with set future prices and are therefore key for more stable and predictable energy prices, to the ultimate benefit of consumers and businesses. It is therefore important to ensure a strong and competitive trading and clearing ecosystem to support the smooth functioning of energy markets, especially in the current context of energy crisis. The Commission has asked EEX to notify the transaction. EEX cannot implement the transaction before notifying and obtaining clearance from the Commission.
This is the third occasion on which the Commission has accepted referral requests pursuant to Article 22(1) of the EUMR in application of its Article 22 Guidance adopted on 26 March 2021.
Source – EU Commission