The European Commission said Wednesday it launched a probe to investigate whether a deal by German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG (SI) and France's Areva SA (CEI.FR) on the conditions for ending a nuclear power joint venture violates competition rules.
The European Commission said Wednesday it launched a probe to
investigate whether a deal by German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG (SI)
and
France
's
Areva SA (CEI.FR) on the conditions for ending a nuclear power joint venture
violates competition rules.
The commission "has opened proceedings to assess whether non-compete
clauses... in the field of civil nuclear technology may be in violation of EU
antitrust rules" and the abuse of dominant positions, it said in a
statement.
The non-compete clauses concern the companies' Areva NP joint venture, the
commission said. The start of a probe "means the case merits
investigation. It does not prejudge the final outcome," the commission
explained.
The commission statement confirmed what a person familiar with the matter told
Dow Jones Newswires earlier Wednesday. The person explained that the commission
is investigating a clause in the joint venture contract that prohibits Siemens
from developing other nuclear power plants either alone or with partners for
eight years should the joint venture with Areva be dissolved.
Siemens hopes the commission will rule to shorten the competition ban, the
person told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday.
A commission spokeswoman said later Wednesday that a complaint by Siemens
itself prompted the European Union's antitrust body to open the probe.
In 2009, Siemens said it wanted to leave the joint venture and shortly after
said it hoped to team up with Russian nuclear power state corporation Rosatom
instead. Since then, the French and the German companies have argued over the
terms of disbanding the joint venture, with Siemens wanting to sell its 34%
stake to Areva, and the French company saying its partner must respect the
non-compete clause before pairing up with Rosatom.
Areva has said it might agree to drop its demand in exchange for a discount on
the price of the stake, but if the clause was found illegal, the company would
lose its leverage. Siemens' stake in the joint venture is worth about EUR2
billion.
A spokeswoman for Areva said the company will cooperate with the European
Commission and that it is confident about the solidity of its position.
A spokesman for Siemens said the Munich-based conglomerate "welcomes the
statement by the EU Commission." The spokesman added that Siemens had
asked the commission to look into the matter.
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