By Joey Gardiner, 24 July 2000 17:53
NEWS The European Commission (EC) is to rule shortly on whether business-to-business (B2B) internet marketplace, MyAircraft.com, is in breach of EU competition rules and will set a precedent in the EU's treatment of online trading hubs. The joint venture between United Technologies Corp (UTC), Honeywell and i2 Technologies is the first significant B2B marketplace to fall under the Commission's regulatory scrutiny and will now face a preliminary enquiry by the EC. An EC spokeswoman said the Commission would make a ruling by 7 August, and admitted: "The deal will set a precedent, to the extent that MyAircraft.com is representative of the e-marketplace industry as a whole." However, she insisted the scrutiny was purely routine, with the possibility of a further investigation if the Commission was not satisfied by the August deadline. The MyAircraft.com deal was submitted to the EC under the merger regulations. This means the EC must check the deal does not increase or create a dominant market position, but does not necessarily mean the EC views the deal as a merger. The outcome of the EC review will likely be watched closely by other internet marketplace companies, as there are equivalent plans for the rest of the aerospace industry, the car industry and the petrochemicals business.
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