# C_2014417EN.01001101.xml

| 21.11.2014 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 417/11 |
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21.11.2014

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 417/11

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Prior notification of a concentration

(Case M.7437 — Blackstone/TPG/Kensington)

Candidate case for simplified procedure

(Text with EEA relevance)

2014/C 417/08

| 1. | On 11 November 2014, the Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which the Blackstone Group L.P. (‘Blackstone’, United States) and Koala HoldCo, LLC affiliated with TPG Global, LLC and TPG Special Situations Partners, LLC (‘TPG’, United States) acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control over Kensington Group plc and certain Investec Bank plc assets (‘Kensington’, the United Kingdom), by way of purchase of shares. |
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1.

On 11 November 2014, the Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which the Blackstone Group L.P. (‘Blackstone’, United States) and Koala HoldCo, LLC affiliated with TPG Global, LLC and TPG Special Situations Partners, LLC (‘TPG’, United States) acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control over Kensington Group plc and certain Investec Bank plc assets (‘Kensington’, the United Kingdom), by way of purchase of shares.

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| 2. | The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
  —   Blackstone: global alternative asset manager and provider of financial advisory services,
  —   TPG: global private investment firm,
  —   Kensington: residential mortgage lender based in the United Kingdom. |
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2.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—   Blackstone: global alternative asset manager and provider of financial advisory services,

Blackstone

—   TPG: global private investment firm,

TPG

—   Kensington: residential mortgage lender based in the United Kingdom.

Kensington

| 3. | On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved. Pursuant to the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations under the Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (2) it should be noted that this case is a candidate for treatment under the procedure set out in this Notice. |
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3.

On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved. Pursuant to the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations under the Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (2) it should be noted that this case is a candidate for treatment under the procedure set out in this Notice.

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| 4. | The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.
  Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. Observations can be sent to the Commission by fax (+32 22964301), by e-mail to COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu or by post, under reference number Case M.7437 — Blackstone/TPG/Kensington, to the following address:





  European Commission |
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| Directorate-General for Competition |
| Merger Registry |
| 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel |
| BELGIQUE/BELGIË |

4.

The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.

Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. Observations can be sent to the Commission by fax (+32 22964301), by e-mail to COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu or by post, under reference number Case M.7437 — Blackstone/TPG/Kensington, to the following address:

European Commission

Directorate-General for Competition

Merger Registry

1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

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(1)  OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the ‘Merger Regulation’).

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(2)  OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.

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