European Commission approves UralChem’s purchase of Uralkali

BRUSSELS, Aug 3 (PRIME) -- The European Commission has approved a bid of Russian fertilizer producer UralChem for a stake in another fertilizer producer Uralkali, the commission said in a statement on Friday.

In November 2017, Uralkali’s board of directors approved the sale of no more than 10% quasi-treasury stake in the company to UralChem.

“The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would not raise competition concerns due to the lack of horizontal overlaps and limited vertical links between the companies' activities. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure,” the European Commission said.

According to the materials of the company as of October 20, 2017, Uralkali’s core owners were UralChem with a 20% stake, Rinsoco Trading Co. Limited with a 20% stake, while quasi-treasury shares accounted for 54.77% of the equity and 5.23% was free-float.

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