Bluestar's merger of Norwegian Elkem OKed

The European Commission Friday approved the acquisition of Norwegian company Elkem by China National Bluestar, saying the deal does not impede competition in the silicon market.

"The Commission examined this merger carefully for possible coordination by the Chinese state of market behaviour of Chinese State-owned companies in the same sector as we also do for mergers involving European state-owned undertakings," European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said in a statement.

"But even assuming all Chinese State-owned firms in the sector acted as one, European consumers would still enjoy sufficient competition from other players serving the market," said Joaquin Almunia, the European Competition Commissioner.

Norwgian company Elkem is primarily active in producing and selling silicon related materials, while China National Bluestar, a subsidiary of China National Chemical Corporation, produces a wide range of chemical products.

The Commission concluded that the market share of the combined Elkem-Bluestar will be limited and there are other companies from Spain, Germany and the U.S. serving European consumers.