BRIEF—EC clears acquisition of Norgine by Goldman Sachs

The European Commission has approved, under the European Union Merger Regulation, the acquisition of Norgine Europe, together with its subsidiaries (Norgine Group) of the Netherlands by the USA’s Goldman Sachs Group.

Goldman Sachs’ private equity arm has agreed in May to buy a controlling stake in privately-owned Norgine for around $2 billion back in May.

The Norgine Group is a European specialist pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceutical goods. Goldman Sachs is a global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a range of banking, securities and investment services worldwide.

The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns, given the lack of overlaps between the companies' activities and the fact that they are not active on related markets. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure.