On 20 February 2024, the sale of Mannesmann Stainless Tubes GmbH to Cogne Acciai Speciali S.p.A. by Salzgitter AG was publicly announced. On 4 June 2024, the merger project was notified to the European Commission.

Cogne primarily manufactures long stainless steel and nickel alloy products, including semi-finished products such as blooms and billets. Since Mannesmann uses these inputs to manufacture seamless stainless steel and nickel alloy tubes, the merger creates a vertical overlap. The overlap was found by the Commission to meet the condition in paragraph 5(d) of the Commission Notice (2023) for a simplified treatment of certain concentrations under the EU Merger Regulation.

Cogne retained NERA to assist in preparation for the Commission’s review of its acquisition plan. A NERA team led by Nicola Tosini defined the relevant markets, identified overlaps, calculated market shares, and assessed any foreclosure risk.

Following the simplified review procedure, the European Commission cleared the merger on 27 June 2024.