Ireland: Kingspan has contested the European Commission (EC)'s preliminary findings from its investigation of the company’s abandoned attempt to acquire Slovenia-based Trimo in 2021. The Commission preliminarily found that Kingspan negligently or intentionally provided incorrect, incomplete and misleading information during the merger review. The relevant information reportedly pertained to Kingspan’s internal organisation, market scope, barriers to entry and expansion and competition closeness with Trimo. The Irish Independent newspaper has reported that applicable fines may be up to 1% of Kingspan’s annual global turnover.
Kingspan disputed the preliminary findings and will now formulate a response. In a statement, the company said “Kingspan has fully co-operated with the commission throughout the period relating to the Trimo process, which commenced in September 2020, continued until Kingspan withdrew from the process in April 2022, and was followed by the EC's investigation, which opened in November 2022. This Trimo application was unusual and uniquely onerous given both the level of information sought and the fact that the process occurred during the Covid-19 outbreak. It is in no way representative of the long and productive relationship Kingspan has with the EC. Since the Trimo process began in 2020, Kingspan has secured four successful clearances, supporting investments by Kingspan in energy-efficient and low-carbon buildings that are essential to the EC's green transition."
