EU approves Statoil's bid for Finnish jet fuel retailer

BRUSSELS, Dec. 22 (Chinese media) -- The European Union (EU) on Monday approved a bid by Norwegian oil and gas group StatoilHydro to share control with Finnish motor fuel retailer St1 over jet fuel retailer St1Avifuels.

The European Commission, the EU's antitrust watchdog, said in a statement that after examining the operation, it found the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the EU.

St1Avifuels, currently solely controlled by St1, is active in aviation refueling at some Finnish airports.

StatoilHydro is an integrated oil and gas company active in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, refining and sale of fuels and other oil derivatives.

St1 is mainly active in retail sales of motor fuels in Finland and Sweden.

Although none of the parties is active in the same product market in Finland, there is a potential vertical relationship between StatoilHydro and St1Avifuels, since StatoilHydro is active in ex-refinery sales of jet fuels, the commission said.

The examination of the proposed transaction showed this potential vertical link is unlikely to lead to competition concerns, it added.