Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.9439 — Warner Bros/Universal/Home Entertainment JV) Candidate case for simplified procedure (Text with EEA relevance) 2020/C 98/12
Date: 2020-03-25
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: consumer goods, economic concentration, electronic game, intellectual property, merger control, programmes industry, provision of services, technology, telecommunications, television








C_2020098EN.01001201.xml










25.3.2020   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 98/12






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.9439 — Warner Bros/Universal/Home Entertainment JV)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2020/C 98/12)

1.   
On 13 March 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:






—


Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (“Warner Bros”, United States of America), ultimately controlled by AT&T Inc. (“AT&T”, United States of America),










—


Universal City Studios Productions LLLP (“Universal”, United States of America), ultimately controlled by Comcast Corporation (“Comcast”, United States of America),




Warner Bros and Universal acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of a newly created company.
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:






—


for Warner Bros: production, distribution and licensing of TV programming and feature films, distribution of home entertainment products in both physical and digital formats, production and distribution of videogames and consumer products, brand licensing;










—


for AT&T: provision of global telecommunications and digital entertainment services;










—


for Universal: production, distribution and licensing of TV programming and feature films, wholesale supply of TV channels and on-demand services, general entertainment and news content, licensing of intellectual property to manufacturers and distributors of consumer products;










—


for Comcast: provision of media, technology and entertainment services;










—


for the joint venture: manufacturing and distribution of physical home entertainment content in the US and Canada.






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.9439 — Warner Bros/Universal/Home Entertainment JV
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.