Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.9673 — Columbia Threadneedle Investments/Brittany Ferries/Condor) Candidate case for simplified procedure (Text with EEA relevance) 2020/C 18/07
Date: 2020-01-20
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: carriage of goods, carriage of passengers, economic concentration, investment company, maritime transport, merger control, tourism, transport company








C_2020018EN.01002301.xml










20.1.2020   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 18/23






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.9673 — Columbia Threadneedle Investments/Brittany Ferries/Condor)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2020/C 18/07)

1.   

On 13 January 2020, 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:






—


Columbia Threadneedle Investments (‘CTI’, United Kingdom),










—


B.A.I. Bretagne Angleterre Irlande S.A., trading as Brittany Ferries (‘BF’, France), and










—


MEIF II Channel Islands Transport Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries (‘Condor’, Guernsey).




CTI and BF acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the whole of Condor.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.

2.   
The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:






—


for CTI: global asset manager, offering a range of strategies and solutions covering global, regional and domsestic markets and asset classes. It is the asset management group of Ameriprise Financial, Inc, a leading US-based financial services provider,










—


for BF: shipping company, which operates passenger and freight transport services between France and the UK, France and Ireland, UK and Spain, and between Ireland and Spain. It also offers a selection of mini-cruises, holiday options and packages,










—


for Condor: operates passenger and freight ferry services between the Channel Islands and the UK, and the Channel Islands and France.






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.9673 — Columbia Threadneedle Investments/Brittany Ferries/Condor
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.