EU clears UK, Australian companies joint acquisition of Danish ESVAGT

The European Union (EU) on Wednesday announced that it has cleared the UK and Australian companies' joint takeover of ESVAGT, a Danish company which delivers safety and supports at sea. The case is worth up to 610 million U.S. dollars.

The bloc's executive said in a statement that it has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of joint control over ESVAGT of Denmark by 3i Group of the United Kingdom and AMP Capital Investors of Australia.

ESVAGT is known for providing offshore emergency and rescue services at sea as well as services of transfer of personnel for the provision of maintenance activities for offshore wind farms, according to the Commission.

Its new owners, 3i, is a venture capital company primarily investing in Europe and AMP Capital investors is an investment company operating across a broad range of asset classes worldwide.

"The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would not raise competition concerns, because the companies are not present in the same markets," the statement said.

"None of the companies in which 3i and AMP have a stake are present in an area that is related to the activities of ESVAGT," it added. Endit