European antitrust regulators have been forced to stop the clock on their review of the deal where Boeing hopes to take an 80% controlling stake in the commercial airline and services business of Brazilian planemaker Embraer.
The regulators have cited the fact that insufficient documentation has been provided as the reason the investigation has come to a halt and will not be restarted until such time as it has been provided with all the information it has requested. “Parties must supply the necessary information for the investigation in a timely fashion,” a spokeswoman for the regulator said Monday in a statement. “Failure to do so will lead the commission to stop the clock.”
A Boeing representative said the two firms “continue to co-operate with the European Commission as they assess our transaction and look forward to a positive resolution.” The principal concern for the regulators is that the deal would see Embraer removed as the third-largest global competitor to both Airbus and Boeing, which would have the potential to: “result in higher prices and less choice.” The move by Boeing was to place itself in a strategically stronger position in the regional jet market to challenge Airbus after the European giant acquired Bombardier’s CSeries aircraft, now renamed the Airbus A220.
