The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of parts of INGKA Holding by Inter IKEA Holding, both of the Netherlands. INGKA develops, produces and sources the IKEA product range, manages the supply chain of the IKEA product range, and produces and sells particle boards. Inter IKEA is the owner of the IKEA concept and the worldwide IKEA franchisor. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns because it would not significantly change the market structure. As part of its analysis of the proposed transaction, the Commission assessed the relationship between the companies involved, concluding that Inter IKEA and INGKA constitute separate undertakings within the meaning of the EU Merger Regulation. This does not prejudge the outcome of analyses of this issue under other rules. The operation was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. More information will be available on the Commission's competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.8047.
