Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.7376 — Droege/Weltbild) — Candidate case for simplified procedure  Text with EEA relevance
Date: 2014-08-30
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: economic concentration, investment company, merger control, publisher








C_2014291EN.01000801.xml










30.8.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 291/8





Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.7376 — Droege/Weltbild)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
2014/C 291/05






1.


On 25 August 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 undertaking Special Purpose Eins Holding GmbH (Germany), which is ultimately controlled by Droege International Group AG (‘Droege AG’, Germany), acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation control of the whole of the undertaking Weltbild Holding GmbH (‘Weltbild Holding’, Germany), a company that is currently named Weltbild Logistik Besitzgesellschaft mbH, by way of purchase of shares. Prior to the transfer, the insolvency administrator of the Verlagsgruppe Weltbild GmbH i.L. (‘Weltbild’) will transfer significant assets of Weltbild (excluding the logistic business) to Weltbild Holding. At a later date, ALSO IS GmbH (Germany), also ultimately controlled by Droege AG, will acquire the logistic business of Weltbild.










2.


The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
—   for Droege AG: The Droege group is a consulting and investment company. It controls companies that are active in a number of sections, such as consulting, pharmaceuticals, wholesale as well as IT and communication services.
—   for Weltbild: Verlagsgruppe Weltbild GmbH i.L. is a publishing house and multi-channel retailer. The company sells books via catalogs online orders and owns retail shops in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The assortment contains only books and e-books as well as a number of other product groups (eg, CDs/DVDs, toys, jewelry and accessories, housewares and giftware, consumer electronics).










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 the Notice.










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 M.7376 — Droege/Weltbild, to the following 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.