The European Commission ruling that put the block on Schneider Electric swallowing Legrand has been overturned in the European appeal court.
The European Commission's decision to block the sale of Legrand to Schneider Electric on the grounds of market domination has been over-turned by the European Court of First Instance of the European Communities.

Schneider Electric's board of directors has instructed the chairman to draw up a list of options in order to ascertain which move is most opportune for the company.

The 5.4 billion euro purchase of Legrand, negotiated last year, could now be ratified, or Schneider could decide to sell for an already agreed sum of 3.6 billion euros to a French/US consortium led by Wendel Investissement and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Closure of the deal was always dependent on the outcome of Schneider's appeal.

If Schneider Electric decides to keep Legrand it is thought that it would have to dispose of some or all of Legrand's French operations in order to avoid national market domination. The electrical giant would also have to pay a 180 million euro fee to Wendel/KKR for backing out of the deal. Schneider could then try to recover this money from the European Commission.

m Schneider Electric and MK have agreed to end their joint venture producing circuit protection products under licence from Schneider for the UK residential market. Developments in the strategies of both companies have led to a termination of the arrangement.

As a result, the production facility at Schneider Electric's Wolverhampton site will close at the end of April 2003, with the net loss of 120 jobs.