European Commission clears acquisition of Seaco by Stonepeak

On 24 November 2025, the European Commission unconditionally approved the acquisition of Global Sea Containers Ltd (“Seaco”) by Stonepeak’s portfolio company Textainer. Both Textainer and Seaco operate in leasing of containers across different container types (e.g., dry boxes, reefers, etc.). The Commission concluded that the transaction would not raise competition concerns with respect to container leasing or any of the potential sub-segments of that market based on container types. As part of its assessment, the Commission reviewed evidence on market definition, switching costs, entry barriers and the constraint from the sale of containers.

CRA’s European Competition team including Matthew Bennett, Vicki Mertzanidou, Balázs Csullag, Johannes von Grone and Finn Heyd advised Textainer on merger control filings before the European Commission and other jurisdictions.