IP/09/312 Brussels, 25th February 2009 Mergers: Commission approves proposed acquisition of consumer credit company Cofidis by Crédit Mutuel The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of consumer credit company Cofidis by retail banker and insurer Crédit Mutuel, both headquartered in France. The Commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it. Cofidis is a specialised provider of consumer credit in a number of European countries, such as France, Belgium, Portugal and Spain. Crédit Mutuel is active in the banking sector, in particular in retail banking and insurance, primarily in France. The Commission found that the proposed transaction would give Crédit Mutuel a strengthened position in the consumer credit markets in France and Belgium, the only two markets where Crédit Mutuel and Cofidis are both active. However, the Commission's examination showed that this would not significantly affect competition on these markets due to the merged entity's relatively small market shares and the presence of a number of competitors active in the markets concerned. The Commission also ruled out any competition concerns due to vertical relationships in the insurance sector, between Crédit Mutuel acting as an insurance company in both France and Belgium and Cofidis' very marginal presence as a distributor of certain insurance products, an activity that is ancillary to its consumer credit activity. The two companies' shares in the markets concerned are very small. More information on the case will be available at: http://ec.europa.eu/competition/mergers/cases/index/m108.html#m_5432 .