According to the Commission, its investigation confirmed that, “beside the merged entity, customers in the cosmetics and perfumery industry will continue to have alternative suppliers for cosmetic packaging.”
Under the EU Merger Regulation [1], the Commission has the duty to assess the biggest mergers and acquisitions in order to prevent concentrations that would lead to dominant positions that would significantly impede effective competition.
Applicators, lipstick tubes, airless pumps…
In the focus: the competitive effects of the combination of Rexam’s personal care business with Albéa, one of Sun Capital’s portfolio companies.
The investigation encompassed the markets for mascara wands and lipgloss applicators, lipstick applicators, fragrance caps and cosmetic closures. Conclusion, according to the Commission: “a number of competitors remain active for each type of cosmetics packaging concerned.”
The Commission also investigated possible impediments to competition in the airless tubes market, but also found that tube manufacturers competing with Albéa would have alternative sources for pumps and that it would be “unlikely that the merged entity would stop supplying competing tube manufacturers with Rexam Personal Care pumps.”
Therefore, according to the European Commission, the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area or a substantial part of it.
Albéa-Rexam merger
The Commission’s green light thus opens the way to the creation of a diversified global leader in laminate and plastic tubes, foam pumps, fragrance samplers, lipstick and mascara containers.
Rexam Personal Care (10 manufacturing units, 6,000 staff) will become a division of Albéa (35 manufacturing, 10,000 staff), a spokesperson of the French company told Premium Beauty News. According to Albéa, the activities of the two companies are very complementary. In particular the acquisition of Rexam Personal Care will help the French group to consolidate its pumps business. In a recent analysis, Moody’s deemed the combined company would hold the second largest market share in the fragrance pumps category and the third largest market share in the lotion pumps category.
