EC clears Birla’s Columbian acquisition

From the Wall Street Journal comes word that the European Commission has cleared India’s Aditya Birla Group to buy U.S. company Columbian Chemicals, in a move that would bring together two of the four largest world producers of carbon black, a chemical mostly used in the production of tires.

“The Commission has concluded that although the merger would create one of the three largest companies in the sector, European customers would continue to enjoy healthy competition,” it said in a statement.