Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The European Commission has unconditionally greenlighted the €2.19bn acquisition of Infinera, a US-based company, by the Finnish technology firm Nokia.
A wide range of optical transport equipment is provided by Nokia and Infinera for the transmission of data through optical fibre cables. According to the parties, the transaction will permit the merged entity to achieve the requisite scale in its optical networking business to expand its product roadmap and compete vigorously with larger competitors in the market.
It was originally announced that Nokia would acquire the US data centre equipment provider in June 2024. It will make Nokia the second-largest optical networking equipment provider in the world after Huawei, with a 20% market share.
The European Commission figured that Nokia and Infinera’s combined market share was relatively low and that several competitors would persist in exerting pressure, providing competition remained strong.
How did the European Commission assess the competition concerns?
According to the Commission, it had investigated the effect of the transaction on the global or EEA markets for the supply of optical transport gear, in addition to narrower segments of such markets depending on the equipment.
According to its market investigation, the Commission discovered that Nokia and Infinera’s combined market shares in the international or EEA markets for the supply of optical transport gear, as well as in the narrower segments of such markets, are reasonable.
It also concluded that there are several plausible competitors in those markets who, following the transaction, will resume exerting sufficient competitive pressure upon Nokia. The Commission figured that the proposed acquisition would not increase competition concerns in the EEA and cleared the transaction unconditionally.
