Finnish Competition Authority opposes NCC’s acquisition of Destia’s asphalt paving operations

The Finnish Competition Authority has opposed NCC’s acquisition of Destia’s asphalt paving operations. The Authority has requested that the Market Court forbid the planned corporate merger.

In March 2011, NCC signed an agreement to acquire the asphalt and paving operations in the Finnish company Destia, which is wholly owned by the Finnish government. The agreement has been subject to review by the Finnish Competition Authority (FCA), which has now announced that it opposes the transaction. The FCA has requested that the Finnish Market Court prohibit the acquisition.

The Market Court must now make a decision in this matter and issue notification within three months on whether the acquisition is to be approved or prohibited.

“The negative response was unexpected. We must now examine the material together with the other parties involved in the transaction before we decide what the next step will be for us,” says Göran Landgren, Business Area President of NCC Roads in a statement.

NCC previously communicated information concerning the agreement to acquire Desdia’s asphalt surfacing business on March 24, 2011.

For further information, please contact:

Göran Landgren, Business Area President, NCC Roads, + 46 (0)705 950 730
NCC’s press telephone: +46 (8) 585  519 00

This is the type of information that NCC could be obligated to disclose pursuant to the Securities Market Act. The information was issued for publication on August 5, 2011.

All NCC’s press releases are available at www.ncc.se.

NCC is one of the leading construction and property development companies in the Nordic region. In 2010, NCC had sales of SEK 49 billion, with 17,000 employees. NCC Roads’ core business is the production of aggregates and asphalt, as well as asphalt paving and road services.