Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.9782 – Experian/Bertelsmann/Informa) Candidate case for simplified procedure (Text with EEA relevance) 2020/C 183/06
Date: 2020-06-03
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: credit rating, data processing, economic concentration, education, information technology industry, mass media, merger control, provision of services, publishing, subsidiary








C_2020183EN.01000901.xml










3.6.2020   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 183/9






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.9782 – Experian/Bertelsmann/Informa)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2020/C 183/06)

1.   
On 20 May 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:






—


Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA (‘Bertelsmann’, Germany),










—


Experian plc (‘Experian’, UK),










—


Informa Solutions GmbH (‘Informa’, Germany).




Experian and Bertelsmann acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the whole of Informa.
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:






—


Experian: Global information services company which provides software and services to businesses that allows them to manage credit risk, minimise the incidence of fraud and verify the identity of individuals,










—


Bertelsmann: a media, services and education company domiciled in Germany that operates in about 50 countries, in particular, in television, magazines publishing, music publishing, education services,










—


Informa: currently a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Bertelsmann. Post transaction, it will bring together the activities of Experian and Bertelsmann in credit reference bureau services, fraud prevention and identity services, creditworthiness data and developing of scoring solutions, automation of claims management processes and decisioning and analytics services.






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.9782 – Experian/Bertelsmann/Informa
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.