Joint venture of two leading coffee manufacturers approved

The European Commission's DG Competition concluded, on 5 May, that the proposed joint venture between Dutch company D.E. Master Blenders 1753 B.V. (DEMB) and American manufacturer Mondelez International Inc. is in line with the EU’s regulation on mergers . Both companies count among the world’s leading coffee manufacturers. The transaction, as initially notified, had sparked concerns on the side of the Commission: its investigation revealed that on several markets, the move would “bring together consumer brands which currently compete closely…