Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.9075 — Continental/Aviation Industry Corporation of China/JV) — Candidate case for simplified procedure (Text with EEA relevance.)
Date: 2018-10-10
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: economic concentration, electric vehicle, electricity storage device, holding company, merger control, motor vehicle industry, vehicle parts








C_2018366EN.01001401.xml










10.10.2018   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 366/14






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.9075 — Continental/Aviation Industry Corporation of China/JV)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2018/C 366/07)

1.   
On 3 October 2018, the Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1).
This notification concerns the following undertakings:






—


Continental Automotive Holding Co., Ltd (‘Continental Automotive’, China), belonging to Continental AG (Germany),










—


Sichuan Chengfei Integration Technology Corp., Ltd (‘CITC’, China), belonging to Aviation Industry Corporation of China (China),










—


Continental CALB Battery Power System Co., Ltd (‘JV’, China), controlled by Continental Automotive and CITC.




Continental Automotive and CITC acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the JV.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares in a newly created company constituting a joint venture.


2.   
The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:






—


Continental Automotive is a foreign-invested holding company, indirectly wholly-owned by Continental AG, a German automotive manufacturing group mainly specialising in products for the automotive and transportation industries,










—


CITC is active in designing and manufacturing batteries and power systems via its subsidiary, China Aviation Lithium Battery Co., Ltd.. CITC is directly owned by Aviation Industry Corporation of China (‘AVIC’), a state-owned enterprise,










—


The JV will develop, produce and sell battery systems for mild hybrid electric vehicles. The product portfolio will feature low voltage battery systems, battery system application software, battery cells and battery management systems, as well as supply chain management of battery systems.






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. The following reference should always be specified:
M.9075 — Continental/Aviation Industry Corporation of China/JV
Observations can be sent to the Commission by email, by fax, or by post. Please use the contact details below:





E-mail: 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.