The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of I.R.I.S. of Belgium by Canon Inc. of Japan. The review of this transaction was referred to the Commission by the Belgian competition authority and subsequently joined by the national competition authorities of Austria, France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Sweden. The Commission’s investigation found that the merged entity would continue to face competition from a number of other strong competitors in the relevant office automation equipment and capture software markets.
In particular, the Commission examined the competitive effects of the acquisition in the markets for different types of portable document scanners where both Canon and I.R.I.S. are active. Although the two companies are important players in some countries, the investigation concluded that the merged entity will continue to face significant competition both in the European Economic Area (EEA) and in individual Member States.
In addition, I.R.I.S. develops and sells different types of capture software for hardware products with scanning functionalities, a field where Canon has substantial business activities. However, the investigation showed that competing office automation equipment manufacturers which licence capture software will continue to benefit from alternatives to the merged entity. Moreover, the transaction will not affect the sales opportunities of competing software vendors. Here to read more.
