Trelleborg/CGS Holding

Compass Lexecon assisted the Swedish manufacturer and supplier of rubber products and agricultural tires Trelleborg AB in securing approval of its acquisition of the Czech tire producer ČGS. The European Commission cleared the merger unconditionally in Phase I. Compass Lexecon’s merger analysis focused on the market for agricultural tires, where Trelleborg and ČGS both had significant market shares. Compass Lexecon conducted an economic analysis of the main competitive drivers in the supply of agricultural tires and assessed the closeness of competition between the merging parties. Despite the significant overlap, the analysis conducted by Compass Lexecon showed that Trelleborg and ČGS were not direct competitors as Trelleborg was operating in a high-quality tier-1 segment while ČGS targeted the mid-quality, tier-2 segment. In particular, a quantitative analysis of the product overlaps in the market for agricultural tires showed that Trelleborg and ČGS tackled different consumers and quality segments. The European Commission found that “Trelleborg and ČGS’s agricultural [tires] focus on different price and quality tiers and were therefore not close competitors.”

Trelleborg AB was advised by Linklaters LLP, led by Jonas Koponen assisted by Sibel Yilmaz and Patrice Galatis. The Compass Lexecon team was led by Enrique Andreu and Miguel de la Mano assisted by Hyung-Joong Kim and Georg Clemens.