BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — European Union regulators gave their approval Monday to the purchase of the Bobcat earth-moving division of Ingersoll-Rand Co. by South Korea's Doosan Infracore Co., saying the euro3.43 billion (US$4.9 billion) deal would not disrupt competition within the European market.
Both Doosan and Bobcat are active in the sale of construction and earthmoving machinery within the 27-nation bloc, but the European Commission said the linkup of the two ''would face numerous effective competitors.''
Of the two, only Bobcat makes significant sales in the market for skid steer loaders and mini-excavators, the EU head office said in a statement.
The acquisition will make Doosan Infracore the world's seventh-largest manufacturer of construction equipment by sales, Doosan said when announcing the deal in July.
The company has a goal to rank in the top five by 2010. The deal, which includes the Bobcat products lines and two other corporate units will give Doosan Infracore a combined network of over 3,700 dealers worldwide and 20 manufacturing plants in countries such as the U.S., China, Belgium, France and the Czech Republic.
Ingersoll-Rand is nominally based in Bermuda but has its executive offices in Montvale, New Jersey. The businesses in the sale have about 5,700 workers worldwide.
