Commission partially waives commitments made by Nidec to obtain clearance of its acquisition of Embraco

The European Commission has partially waived, under the EU Merger Regulation, the commitments made by Nidec to obtain clearance of its acquisition of Embraco, Whirlpool's refrigeration compressor business.

The Commission approved the transaction, subject to conditions, in April 2019. The partial waiver concerns the non-reacquisition clause relating to a fixed speed household compressor manufacturing line (‘Delta line'), which was part of the divestment business that Nidec committed to sell under the commitments.

On 15 May 2020, the Commission waived the commitments, but the decision was subsequently annulled by the judgment of the General Court of 31 January 2024.

Following the General Court's judgment, the Commission re-assessed the request from Nidec to waive the non-reacquisition clause of the commitments with regard to the Delta line. The Commission conducted a market investigation to determine whether a waiver is justified in light of the changed market conditions. Moreover, the Commission completed a market reconstruction exercise to obtain evidence of a durable change in the market.  

The Commission's investigation revealed that the structure of the relevant markets, especially for variable speed refrigeration compressors for household applications, has changed to such an extent that the absence of influence over the concerned part of the divestment business is no longer necessary to render Nidec's acquisition of Embraco compatible with the internal market. The Commission concluded that the changes to the structure of the market are of a durable nature.

On this basis, the Commission has decided to approve Nidec's waiver request.

More information is available on the Commission's competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.8947.

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