CCCS clears Proposed Acquisition by MOMQ Holding Company of CoorsTek KK.’s crucibles business

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1. The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (“CCCS”) has cleared the proposed acquisition by MOMQ Holding Company (“Momentive”) of CoorsTek KK.’s (“CoorsTek”) (collectively, the “Parties") crucibles business (the “Target Business”) (the “Proposed Transaction”).

2. Following its assessment, CCCS has concluded that the Proposed Transaction, if carried into effect, will not infringe the section 54 prohibition of the Competition Act 2004 (the “Act”).

Background

3. CCCS accepted an application from the Parties on 26 August 2022 for a decision on whether the Proposed Transaction would infringe section 54 of the Act, which prohibits mergers which have resulted, or may be expected to result, in a substantial lessening of competition (“SLC”) within any market in Singapore.

4. Momentive is incorporated under the laws of Delaware, USA. It designs and manufactures ultra-high performance quartz and ceramic products. Momentive’s activities in Singapore includes the supply of quartz crucibles used in the production of 300mm silicon wafers. Momentive ships the crucibles to Singapore and does not have any registered entities in Singapore.

5. CoorsTek is incorporated under the laws of Japan. It develops and manufactures a variety of products made of inorganic materials such as quartz glass, graphite, silicon carbide, silicon parts and fine ceramics for use in the production of semiconductor devices. The Target Business is active in manufacturing quartz crucibles and supplies quartz crucibles used in the production of 300mm wafers. CoorsTek ships the crucibles to Singapore and does not have any registered entities in Singapore.

CCCS’s Assessment

6. CCCS conducted a public consultation from 30 August 2022 to 13 September 2022 and sought feedback from various stakeholders, including competitors and customers of Momentive and CoorsTek.

Relevant Market Affected by the Proposed Transaction

7. CCCS considered that the relevant market for its assessment of the Proposed Transaction is the global supply of quartz crucibles used in the production of 300mm silicon wafers.

Competition Assessment

8. CCCS found that the Proposed Transaction is unlikely to lead to non-coordinated^[1] and coordinated^[2] effects that would result in a SLC in the relevant market, for the following reasons:

a) The Parties supply differentiated products and are not close competitors in the relevant market, particularly in Singapore. Customers source from multiple suppliers, and are able to switch between suppliers.

b) Given limited transparency in the procurement process and varied procurement methods, collusion between competing suppliers is unlikely to arise as a result of the Proposed Transaction.

9. Further information on the notification and CCCS’s Grounds of Decision will be made available in due course on CCCS’s Public Register at www.cccs.gov.sg.

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About the Competition & Consumer Commission of Singapore

The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (“CCCS”) is a statutory board of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. CCCS administers and enforces the Competition Act 2004, which empowers CCCS to investigate and adjudicate anti-competitive activities, issue directions to stop and/or prevent anti-competitive activities and impose financial penalties. CCCS is also the administering agency of the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act 2003, which protects consumers against unfair trade practices in Singapore. Our mission is to make markets work well to create opportunities and choices for businesses and consumers in Singapore.

For more information, please visit www.cccs.gov.sg.

^[1] “Non-coordinated effects” may arise when there is a loss of competition between the merging parties and the merged entity finds it profitable to raise prices or reduce output, quality or innovation. Further elaboration of non-coordinated effects can be found in paragraphs 6.4 to 6.15 of the CCCS Guidelines on the Substantive Assessment of Mergers. 

^[2] “Coordinated effects” may arise if the merger raises the possibility of firms in the market coordinating their behaviour to raise prices or reduce quality, output or innovation. Further elaboration of coordinated effects can be found in paragraphs 6.16 to 6.28 of the CCCS Guidelines on the Substantive Assessment of Mergers.