Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.7781 — Marubeni-Itochu Steel/Sumitomo Corporation/MITS JV) — Candidate case for simplified procedure (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2015-10-15
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: economic concentration, iron and steel industry, merger control, metallurgical industry, wholesale trade








C_2015340EN.01000801.xml










15.10.2015   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 340/8





Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.7781 — Marubeni-Itochu Steel/Sumitomo Corporation/MITS JV)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2015/C 340/06)






1.


On 8 October 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 Marubeni-Itochu Steel Inc. (‘MISI’, Japan), controlled by Marubeni Corporation (‘Marubeni’, Japan) and Itochu Corporation (‘Itochu’, Japan), and Sumitomo Corporation (‘Sumitomo’, Japan) acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and Article 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of Marubeni-Itochu Techno Steel Inc. (‘MITS’, Japan) by way of acquisition of shares in a newly created company constituting a joint venture.










2.


The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
—   for MISI: production, imports, exports and sales of steel products, investment in steel-related industries. MISI is a subsidiary of Marubeni Corporation and Itochu Corporation, two conglomerates, which are active in the production and sale of a broad range of products, including food, textiles, chemicals, energy, metals, machinery and others,
—   for Sumitomo: production and supply of products and services in a wide range of sectors, including metal products, transportation and construction systems, infrastructures, media, mineral resources, energy, chemicals, electronics and others,
—   for MITS: production and supply of steel civil engineering products, steel construction products and other steel construction material.










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 email to COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu or by post, under reference number M.7781 — Marubeni-Itochu Steel/Sumitomo Corporation/MITS JV 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.