In October 2018, Quaker notified its proposed acquisition of Houghton to the European Commission. Both Quaker and Houghton are suppliers of industrial lubricants, in particular of a family of metal working fluids known as rolling oils. The European Commission was concerned about the loss of competition that the transaction would have entailed in the highly concentrated markets for: (i) aluminium hot rolling oils; (ii) steel hot rolling oils; and (iii) steel cold rolling oils in the European Economic Area.

Quaker retained NERA Economic Consulting to assist its legal advisers throughout the transaction’s notification and review process in the US, the EU, and Asia.

To address the European Commission’s concerns in the three markets listed above, Quaker offered to divest Houghton’s business in these markets. Having taken the time to identify a global upfront buyer for the divestment business earlier on, Quaker was in a position to offer its commitments shortly after the notification of the transaction was resubmitted. The European Commission conditionally cleared the transaction in December 2018. Quaker is awaiting final approval by the FTC.

For more details, please find the press release of the European Commission here.