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“A fireside decision for Europe,” headlines De Volkskrant. The sale of Draka, a Dutch wire and cable manufacturer, to Italy’sPrysmian, and not to the Chinese bidder Xinmao, was decided by Fentener van Vlissingen, one of the wealthiest families in the Netherlands, which holds a 48.5% stake in the company. This is a strategic decision for Europe, stresses the Dutch daily, as Draka is one of the world leaders in a high-tech industry which is of vital importance to the telecommunications, defence and aeronautics sectors, and which includes fibre-optic cables. Xinmao had outbid Prysmian, fuelling European fear that the Chinese would obtain high-tech know-how and patents. The European Commission must now decide whether the deal abides byEuropean competition rules.
