CCI ordered “rare” detailed investigation in Bharat Forge’s acquisition of AAM India Manufacturing – Industry News

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) invoked a special provision of the Competition Act to grant merger approval to Bharat Forge to acquire AAM India Manufacturing Corporation (AAMCPL) for Rs 746.46 crore. In a recently-published order, the CCI said that it found out that the proposed acquisition is likely to cause appreciable adverse effect on competition (AAEC) in India in the commercial vehicle (CV) axle market, and issued a show cause notice to both the companies under the Section 29 (1) of the Act.

CCI has started Phase II probe

As per the norms, Section 29 (1) is invoked when the CCI begins its Phase II investigation under which the antitrust regulator conducts a detailed investigation on a proposed “combination” case. Prior to the Bharat Forge’s acquisition, CCI initiated a Phase II investigation in 2019 into the proposed acquisition of GMR Airports by Tata group and other entities.

Bharat Forge response to the regulator didn’t answer all concerns

The CCI order said that the Bharat Forge responded to its show-cause notice with certain voluntary modifications and behavioural commitments to address its concerns. However, the regulator noted that the company’s response didn’t address all the prima facie concerns raised by the commission, and directed to publish the details of the proposed acquisition for public comments.

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“Till March 28, 2025, the commission received comments from two stakeholders. Thereafter, the commission directed parties to submit its response to the public comments and also sought certain additional within ten days. The acquirer submitted its response and also proposed revised voluntary modifications and behavioural commitments to address the concerns…,” the CCI order said.

In its revised commitment, Bharat Forge said that AAMCPL will maintain a distinct and independent brand identity for its products – separate from the product brand names used by Bharat Forge’s affiliate joint ventures – Meritor HVS (India) and Automotive Axles – to ensure clear differentiation in the CV axle market. To ensure that the commitments are followed post acquisition, the CCI was set to appoint an independent monitoring agency to oversee compliance.

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