Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.12021 – PIC / WANHUA / WANHUA PETROCHEMICAL) – Candidate case for simplified procedure
Date: 2025-07-03
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: China, domestic market, economic concentration, merger control, petrochemicals, production, supply








C_202503666EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/3666


3.7.2025






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.12021 – PIC / WANHUA / WANHUA PETROCHEMICAL)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(C/2025/3666)


1.   
On 25 June 2025, the Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1).
This notification concerns the following undertakings:






—


Petrochemical Industries Company K.S.C. (‘PIC’, Kuwait), controlled by Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (Kuwait),










—


Wanhua Chemical Group Co., Ltd. (‘Wanhua’, China).




PIC and Wanhua will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of Wanhua Chemical (Yantai) Petrochemical Co., Ltd. (‘Wanhua Petrochemical’, China), currently a wholly owned subsidiary of Wanhua.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.


2.   
The business activities of the undertakings concerned are the following:






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PIC is a global manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals based in Kuwait. PIC is comprised of three divisions, namely Olefins, Aromatics and Fertilisers. It also participates in multiple local and international petrochemical joint ventures,










—


Wanhua is a global manufacturer and supplier of innovative chemical products based in China. The chemical products manufactured by Wanhua are used for a wide variety of applications including homeware / furniture, sports / leisure, automotive / transportation, building / construction, electronics / electrical appliances, personal care, and renewable energy.






3.   

The business activities of Wanhua Petrochemical are the following: manufacture and supply of petrochemicals primarily intended for the domestic Chinese market, including propylene oxide, methyl tertiary-butyl ether, tertiary butyl alcohol, high-purity isobutene, diisobutene, n-butanol, neopentyl glycol, crude acrylic acid, methyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, methyl isobutyl ketone, and maleic anhydride.



4.   
On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved.
Pursuant to the Commission Notice on a simplified treatment for certain concentrations under Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings (2) it should be noted that this case is a candidate for treatment under the procedure set out in the Notice.


5.   
The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed concentration to the Commission.
Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. The following reference should always be specified:
M.12021 – PIC / WANHUA / WANHUA PETROCHEMICAL
Observations can be sent to the Commission by email or by post. Please use the contact details below:
Email: COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu

Postal address:





European Commission




Directorate-General for Competition




Merger Registry




1049 Bruxelles/Brussel




BELGIQUE/BELGIË







(1)  
            OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the ‘Merger Regulation’).

(2)  
            OJ C 160, 5.5.2023, p. 1.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/3666/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)