Opinion of the Advisory Committee on concentrations given at its 122nd meeting on 22 December 2003 concerning a draft decision relating to case COMP/M.2978 - Lagardère/Natexis/VUP

(2004/C 102/10)

(Text with EEA relevance)

1. The Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission that the concentration has a Community dimension within the meaning of the Merger Regulation.

2. The Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission's definition of a primary market for French-language publishing rights that has to be subdivided according to the category of books and a separate market for French-language publishing of foreign publishing rights.

3. The Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission's definition of secondary markets for French-language publishing rights for Publication in Pocket Format.

4. The Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission's definition of separate markets

(a) for marketing services and distributions services,

(b) for marketing services according to classes of dealers (bookshops, wholesalers and hypermarkets),

(c) for the sale of books by publishers to dealers according to the type of dealer,

(d) for the sale of books by the publishers to dealers and for the sale of books by wholesalers to class 3 dealers.

5. The Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission's definition of separate markets for the sale of books according to major categories of books and with the classifications proposed by the Draft Decision.

6. The Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission's definition of separate markets for the sale of large-format and pocket-format general literature titles.

7. The Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission's definition of separate markets for school textbooks and educational supporting material.

8. A majority of the Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission's definition of geographic markets contained in the Draft Decision. A minority abstains.

9. Except for question 8a where a minority abstains the Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission's view that the concentration as initially notified would have created or strengthened a dominant position:

(a) in the primary market for French-language publishing rights in general literature titles,

(b) in the secondary market for French-language publishing rights of general literature titles in pocket-format,

(c) in the market for the provision of marketing services for sales to bookshops, hypermarkets and wholesalers to publishers,

(d) in the markets for distribution services provided to publishers,

(e) in the markets for sale of general literature, children's books, guides and manuals, school textbooks, educational supporting materials and reference works by publishers to dealers,

(f) in the market for the sale of books by wholesalers to class 3 dealers.

10. The majority of the Advisory Committee shares the Commission's view that the commitments submitted by the parties, if implemented as discussed in the Advisory Committee, are sufficient to remove the competition concerns. A minority objects.

11. A majority of the Advisory Committee therefore agrees that the operation should be declared compatible with the Common Market and the functioning of the EEA-Agreement subject to full compliance with the conditions and obligations set out in the Annex of the Draft Decision. A minority objects.

12. The Advisory Committee recommends the publication of its opinion in the Official Journal of the European Union.

13. The Advisory Committee asks the Commission to take into account all the other points raised during the discussion.