Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.9704 — Gilde/Proman/Agilitas) Candidate case for simplified procedure (Text with EEA relevance) 2020/C 26/02
Date: 2020-01-27
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: economic concentration, employment service, investment company, merger control, personnel administration, temporary employment, temporary employment agency








C_2020026EN.01000201.xml










27.1.2020   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 26/2






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.9704 — Gilde/Proman/Agilitas)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2020/C 26/02)

1.   
On 20 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:






—


Gilde V Management B.V. (‘Gilde’, The Netherlands), which is ultimately controlled by Gilde Management Holding B.V.,










—


Proman Expansion (‘Proman’, France).




Gilde and Proman acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the Agilitas group (‘Agilitas Group’, Belgium) through its holding company Flemish Holdco I N.V. The Agilitas Group is currently solely controlled by Gilde.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.


2.   
The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:






—


for Gilde: a private equity fund that invests in medium-sized companies active in various sectors in Europe and in particular in the Benelux, Germany, Switzerland and Austria,










—


for Proman: active in the staffing sector, in the field of interim, indefinite and fixed duration contracts. Proman operates in Belgium, Canada, France (including in the overseas departments La Reunion and Mayotte), Luxembourg, Monaco, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States,










—


for the Agilitas Group: provision of HR solutions with a focus on temporary staffing in Belgium and the Netherlands.






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.9704 — Gilde/Proman/Agilitas
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.