The European Commission gives go ahead to the £2.2bn acquisition of Pilkington by Nippon Sheet Glass
Nippon Sheet Glass has announced that the European Commission has cleared the acquisition of Pilkington under the Merger Regulation.
The news follows announcements made in March that the UK glass maker had agreed to the £2.2bn takeover proposed by Nippon Glass.
This was the third time that the Japanese company, which owns 20% of Pilkington, had offered to buy out the British firm. The first two offers had been rejected by Pilkington.
The deal is expected to create a global glass company with annual sales of £3.7bn. Pilkington controls about one-fifth of the global glass market, and its strengths lie in the European and North American markets. Nippon Glass, which is the second largest supplier of glass to the automotive industry in Japan, currently controls about 4%.
The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the month.
