Provimi

The European Commission has granted regulatory clearance to the proposed purchase of Edison’s majority stake in Provimi, an animal feed manufacturer, by a holding company jointly controlled by the CVC Group and the PAI Group. The operation will not give rise to any competition concerns.

The CVC Group involved in this transaction is based in the US and the PAI Group is based in France. Both CVC and PAI are already active in the animal feed sector through their control of certain companies.

Provimi is a French company that manufactures and sells various animal feed products. The Commission assessed the potential horizontal and vertical impacts of the transaction in the markets for animal feed as well as in related markets including vitamins, synthetic methionine and palatability enhancers for pet food.

The investigation revealed only minor overlaps on the markets for animal feed and, therefore, the transaction does not give rise to competition concerns. While CVC and PAI have noteworthy shares of the markets for vitamins, synthetic methionine, and palatability enhancers for pet food through their control of certain companies, the Commission’s investigation revealed that existing and potential competitors would provide sufficient competitive constraint.