The European Commission has approved, in accordance with the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition by Geodis, which belongs to the SNCF group, of sole control of Giraud, an international road freight group.
The Commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it.
Geodis is a global logistics chain and goods transport operator that is active mainly in France. It is a subsidiary of SNCF-P, a holding company that manages SNCF’s shareholdings, particularly with regard to rail freight transport, combined transport, freight wagon hire, resource management and port handling.
Giraud is an international road freight group active in commissioning freight forwarding, logistics and road freight services in Europe.
By the notified transaction, Geodis aims to acquire sole control of the four areas of the Giraud group’s activity (central and eastern Europe, steel industry, northern Europe and France, and southern Europe). There are no significant overlaps between the parties’ activities. The proposed transaction will result in a vertical relationship between, on the one hand, SNCF’s rail freight transport services and, on the other, Giraud’s land-based freight forwarding activities (including freight forwarding by rail and road). The Commission has examined the effects of the proposed transaction and confirmed that there would be no incentive for SNCF to restrict access to its rail transport services following the merger because Giraud specialises in commissioning road transport, and because there are strong competitors in the freight forwarding sector who are important clients of SNCF.
The transaction was notified to the Commission on 11 June 2010.
