OBI May Acquire Remaining Shares in Brico

The European Commission on Feb. 16 cleared OBI GmbH, of Germany, to acquire the remaining shares in Brico Business Cooperation Srl, of Italy.

Currently, Brico Business Cooperation is a joint venture between OBI and UNICOOP Firenze. It operates and provides franchise services for more than 50 do-it-yourself stores under the trademark OBI in Italy. OBI operates a franchise system for do-it-yourself stores in Europe under the same trademark.

Since OBI already had joint control over Brico Business Cooperation prior to this transaction, the proposed acquisition would not raise anticompetitive concerns. The commission also noted that OBI does not have any ...