Exclusive: Thales, Gemalto 4.8 billion euro deal faces EU probe - sources

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - French aerospace and defence group Thales' 4.8-billion-euro ($5.6 billion) plan to acquire chipmaker Gemalto to become a top-three global player in digital security faces a full-scale EU probe, two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Thales, whose largest shareholder is the French state, outbid French peer Atos with a higher offer for the Franco-Dutch company in December. State-owned bank Bpifrance is Gemalto's second-biggest shareholder.

Companies are eyeing growth in security services such as data encryption and biometric passports where demand is growing.

The European Commission, which has been reviewing the deal since June 18, will open a full-scale investigation on July 23 at the end of its preliminary scrutiny, the people said.

The move by the Commission comes after Thales declined to offer concessions to address concerns about overlaps with Gemalto, they said. The deadline to do so was July 16.

The EU competition enforcer declined to comment while Thales had no immediate comment.

Thales shares were down 1.3 percent to 112.8 euros.

Regulators typically expect companies to divest assets or agree to provide rivals access to some technologies and products to allay their concerns that deals may hurt competition and push up prices.

($1 = 0.8627 euros)

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, additional reporting by Cyril Altmeyer; in Paris; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek and Alexandra Hudson)