Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.9284 — BillerudKorsnäs Venture/ALPLA Holding/ecoXpac) — Candidate case for simplified procedure (Text with EEA relevance.)
Date: 2019-04-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: economic concentration, merger control, new technology, packaging product, plastics industry, pulp and paper industry, research body








C_2019136EN.01002701.xml










12.4.2019   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 136/27






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.9284 — BillerudKorsnäs Venture/ALPLA Holding/ecoXpac)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2019/C 136/08)

1.   
On 5 April 2019, 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:






—


BillerudKorsnäs Venture AB (‘BillerudKorsnäs Venture’, Sweden) controlled by BillerudKorsnäs AB (publ);










—


ALPLA Holding GmbH (‘Alpla Holding’ Austria), belonging to the Alpla group;










—


ecoXpac A/S (‘ecoXpac’ Denmark), controlled by BillerudKorsnäs Venture.




BillerudKorsnäs Venture AB and ALPLA Holding acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of ecoXpac.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.


2.   
The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:






—


BillerudKorsnäs is a manufacturer of primary fibre-based packaging materials.










—


ALPLA is a family operated developer and producer of plastic packaging solutions.










—


ecoXpac is a research and development company developing technology for moulded pulp solutions for packaging purposes. It is currently researching a solution for a paper-based bottle, which will be able to hold liquids, such as carbonated liquids, as well as powders, the concept for which is known as the ‘Green Fibre Bottle’.






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.9284 — BillerudKorsnäs Venture/ALPLA Holding/ecoXpac
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.