Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.7705 — Benson Elliot/Walton Street/Starwood/Hotel Portfolio) — Candidate case for simplified procedure (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2015-09-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: economic concentration, hotel industry, incorporation, investment company, merger control








C_2015301EN.01001601.xml










12.9.2015   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 301/16





Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.7705 — Benson Elliot/Walton Street/Starwood/Hotel Portfolio)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2015/C 301/10)






1.


On 4 September 2015, the Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which the undertakings Benson Elliot Capital Management LLP (‘Benson Elliot’, United Kingdom) and Walton Street Capital L.L.C. (‘Walton Street’, United States) acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and Article 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of a portfolio of eight operating hotels located across the European Union (‘the Portfolio’) by way of purchase of shares in a newly created company constituting a joint venture. Over five of the aforementioned hotels, Benson Elliot and Walton Street will jointly acquire control with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (‘Starwood’, United States) by virtue of pre-existing hotel management agreements.










2.


The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
—   for Benson Elliot: private equity real-estate fund manager investing in hotel, office, residential and retail real estate properties in the UK,
—   for Walton Street: is a private equity investment firm, also active in the real estate industry,
—   for Starwood: hotel and leisure operator. Its brands include: St. REGIS, The Luxury Collection, W, Westin, Le Méridien, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, Aloft, element, and Tribute Portfolio,
—   for the Portfolio: eight hotels located in the cities of Nuremberg, Warsaw, Rome, Venice, Milan, Paris and Brussels.










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 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.










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 M.7705 — Benson Elliot/Walton Street/Starwood/Hotel Portfolio, 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.