EU regulators will review a bid by bug spray maker S.C. Johnson to purchase Sara Lee Corp.’s remaining insecticide business at the request of national watchdogs, the European Commission said on Wednesday. Sara Lee announced the $200 million deal in June as part of a strategy of focusing on selling food, coffee and tea.
The Commission said normally the companies would only need to notify national regulators and not the European Union executive as the deal did not meet the EU’s turnover threshold. But six national regulators had referred the deal to the commission.
“The national competition authorities of Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Italy and Spain asked the Commission to examine the impact of the deal on their territories,” the commission said.
The EU competition watchdog is now reviewing Unilever’s $1.3 billion proposed acquisition of Sara Lee’s body care business. A decision is due by Oct. 22.
At least the EU has antitrust watchdogs. One can’t say that of the U.S. Justice Department, going back to the Clinton Administration.