The Bundeskartellamt confirms that the notification of the planned merger between European Owens Corning Fiberglas Sprl, Watermael-Boitsfort, Belgium ('Owens Corning') and Ahlstrom Glassfibre Oy, Kotka, Finland ('Ahlstrom') was withdrawn on 27 July 2016. One month earlier, the Bundeskartellamt had sent a decision draft to the parties to the merger in which it informed them of its concerns about the merger.

Owens Corning had intended to acquire Ahlstrom's glass fibre nonwoven business. Glass fibre nonwovens are mainly used in the construction industry, e.g. for roofing, wall lining and flooring.
The Bundeskartellamt's preliminary investigations found that Owens Corning is already the market leader in some of the business areas affected and would reach a market share of more than 50 per cent with the intended merger.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt: "After the merger customers would hardly have any alternative suppliers left to purchase from. According to our preliminary investigations, in the product areas most affected there would only have remained one serious competitor to the merged company. The merger would mostly have had effects on the German markets, as the demand for the products affected is particularly strong in our country and the turnover achieved by the parties in Germany is high compared to the other European states."