Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.8618 — OMV/VERBUND/SMATRICS/E-Mobility Provider) — Candidate case for simplified procedure (Text with EEA relevance. )
Date: 2017-11-09
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: economic concentration, electrical energy, electricity supply, energy production, gas industry, gas supply, merger control, oil industry








C_2017377EN.01002401.xml










9.11.2017   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 377/24





Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.8618 — OMV/VERBUND/SMATRICS/E-Mobility Provider)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2017/C 377/14)






1.


On 26 October 2017, the European Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1).
This notification concerns the following undertakings:






—


OMV Aktiengesellschaft (Austria),










—


VERBUND AG (Austria),










—


SMATRICS GmbH & Co KG (Austria),










—


E-Mobility Provider Austria GmbH (Austria), as unlimited partner of SMATRICS GmbH & Co KG.




OMV and VERBUND acquire indirectly, within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and Article 3(4) of the Merger Regulation, joint control of the whole of the undertakings SMATRICS GmbH & Co KG and E-Mobility Provider Austria GmbH.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.










2.


The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
—   OMV Aktiengesellschaft: exploration and production of oil and natural gas, the processing and sale of crude oil products (including petrochemical products) and the import and distribution of natural gas.
—   VERBUND AG: electricity supply company involved in generating and transmitting electricity, and in electricity trading.
—   SMATRICS GmbH & Co KG and E-Mobility Provider Austria GmbH: provision of services to users of electric vehicles, in particular charging infrastructure, electricity from renewable sources and information services. SMATRICS offers a package of electromobility services to private and commercial users of electric vehicles.










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 to it their observations on the proposed operation.
Observations must reach the Commission no later than 10 days following the date of publication of this notification. The following reference should always be specified:
M.8618 — OMV/VERBUND/SMATRICS/E-Mobility Provider
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.