Some of the Irish operations of international electrical equipment groups Rexel and its rival Hagemeyer could be reorganised or sold as a precondition for regulatory approval of Rexel's agreed €3.1 billion takeover of Hagemeyer.

Paris-based Rexel owns Kelliher's Electrical, a Tralee-based distribution business which has 28 branches throughout Ireland. Dutch group Hagemeyer owns Eastern Electrical in Dundalk, a business whose operations include Portlaoise Electrical Wholesale, Athlone Electrical Wholesale and Gen-Weld Safety Equipment.

Rexel, the world's biggest electrical distributor, has offered a concession to resolve anti-trust concerns of the European Commission's competition division in relation to its proposal to acquire the Irish interests of Hagemeyer, a business-to-business distributor of electrical materials in Europe, North America and Australia.

Rexel spokeswoman Penelope Linage said the EU had expressed concerns about the potential impact of the transaction on the Irish market but she did not disclose any further information about the concession offered. "I cannot give you any specific details about the remedy," she said yesterday evening.

The European Commission has extended its review of the deal by a fortnight until February 22nd as a result of the offer from Rexel. The offer of a concession from Rexel appears to represent a new approach, as the group previously indicated its intention to retain "essentially all" of Hagemeyer's operations in Ireland.

Kelliher's claims to be the largest electrical wholesaler in the Republic. The most recent accounts for the operating company, M Kelliher 1998 Ltd, show it had a turnover of €131.15 million in 2006 and pretax profits of €14.65 million. The business paid a dividend of €11 million to its parent in 2006. Rexel took control of Kelliher's in 2006 when it acquired GE Supply from US conglomerate General Electric.