1.   

On 23 April 2026, 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:

—	Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (‘Aluminium Bahrain’, Bahrain),

—	Aluminium Dunkerque (‘Aluminium Dunkerque’, France).

Aluminium Bahrain will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control of the whole of Aluminium Dunkerque.

The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.

2.   

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are the following:

—	Aluminium Bahrain is an aluminium smelter in the Middle East, with a single production site, located in Bahrain, which comprises six electrolysis cell lines, three power plants, a captive port and a coke calciner, with an annual production capacity of over 1,6 million tons,

—

Aluminium Dunkerque is a primary aluminium producer operating an aluminium smelter with an annual production capacity of approximately 300 000 tons and more than 750 employees. All production takes place at a single site located in the industrial port area of Dunkirk, in Loon-Plage and Gravelines (France).

3.   

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.

4.   

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.12385 – ALUMINIUM BAHRAIN / ALUMINIUM DUNKERQUE

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