Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.9797 – AUNDE Group/Toyota Boshoku/TB Kawashima Automotive Textile (India) JV) Candidate case for simplified procedure (Text with EEA relevance) 2020/C 152/03
Date: 2020-05-07
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: economic concentration, merger control, motor vehicle industry, textile industry, vehicle parts








C_2020152EN.01000301.xml










7.5.2020   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 152/3






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.9797 – AUNDE Group/Toyota Boshoku/TB Kawashima Automotive Textile (India) JV)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2020/C 152/03)

1.   
On 28 April 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:






—


AUNDE Achter & Ebels GmbH (Germany), belonging to AUNDE Group SE (‘AUNDE’, Germany),










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TB Kawashima Co. Ltd. (‘TBK’, Japan) controlled by Toyota Boshoku Corporation (‘TB’, Japan),










—


TB Kawashima Automotive Textile (India) Private Ltd. (the ‘Target’, India).




AUNDE and TB acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the Target. Pre-transaction, the Target is solely controlled by TB through TBK.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.


2.   
The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:






—


for AUNDE Achter & Ebels GmbH: the development and production of automotive products, including yarns, technical fabrics, textile and leather covers. It is a subsidiary of Aunde, which focuses on the development and production of among others yarns, technical textiles, seat covers and foam parts for the automotive industry under the brands AUNDE, ISRINGHAUSEN and FEHRER for OEMs and suppliers to the automotive industry in Europe and worldwide,










—


for TBK: the development, production and supply of various types of automotive textiles and interior fabrics particularly in Asia. It is an affiliate of TB, a Japanese automotive component manufacturer, which focuses on passenger car seats, seats for trains and aircrafts as well as on seat components and other interior and exterior vehicle components,










—


for the Target: the manufacture and distribution of interior textiles and fabrics for the automotive industry in India and in neighbouring countries.






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.9797 – AUNDE Group/Toyota Boshoku/TB Kawashima Automotive Textile (India) 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.