Official Journal of the European Union

Prior notification of a concentration

(Case M.10932 – ZF / HELLA / NGK / CLARIOS / AHEAD JV)

Candidate case for simplified procedure

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2022/C 454/06)

1. On 22 November 2022, the Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 ( 1 ) This notification concerns the following undertakings: — ZF Friedrichshafen AG (‘ZF’, Germany), — HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA (‘Hella’, Germany), belonging to the FORVIA group (France), — NGK SPARK PLUG EUROPE GmbH (‘NGK’, Germany), belonging to the NGK SPARK PLUG Group (Japan), — Clarios Germany GmbH & Co. KG (‘Clarios’, Germany), belonging to the Clarios Group (United States), controlled by Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (Canada). ZF, Hella, NGK and Clarios will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of Ahead GmbH (‘Ahead JV’). The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares in a newly created company constituting a joint venture.

2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are the following: — ZF is a global technology company that develops, manufactures and distributes products and systems for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and industrial technology, — Hella is an automotive parts supplier that is mainly active in the development and production of lighting and electronic products. Hella also offers a broad portfolio of services and products for workshop customers, — NGK manufactures and sells spark plugs and related products for internal combustion engines, as well as sensors and ceramics for a wide range of applications, — Clarios is an automotive parts supplier active in the research, development, manufacturing, licensing, marketing and distribution of starter batteries for all kinds of vehicles and applications, including passenger vehicles, trucks, and other motive applications.

3. The business activities of the JV will be the following: — Ahead JV will offer repair services and digital solutions and programs to European workshops and their mechanics in selected parts of Europe, including a subscription-based ‘edutainement platform’ and a loyalty program.

4. 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 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 the Notice.

5. 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. The following reference should always be specified: M.10932 – ZF / HELLA / NGK / CLARIOS / AHEAD JV Observations can be sent to the Commission by email, by fax, or by post. Please use the contact details below: Email: COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu Fax +32 22964301 Postal address: European Commission Directorate-General for Competition Merger Registry 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel BELGIQUE/BELGIË

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

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