Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.9812 – Verily Life Sciences/Santen Pharmaceutical/JV) Candidate case for simplified procedure (Text with EEA relevance) 2020/C 235/04
Date: 2020-07-17
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: economic concentration, eye disease, health care, life sciences, medical device, merger control, pharmaceutical industry








C_2020235EN.01000401.xml










17.7.2020   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 235/4






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.9812 – Verily Life Sciences/Santen Pharmaceutical/JV)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2020/C 235/04)

1.   
On 9 July 2020, the Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 and following a referral pursuant to Article 4(5) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1).
This notification concerns the following undertakings:






—


Verily Life Sciences LLC (USA) (‘Verily’), controlled by Alphabet Inc. (USA),










—


Santen Pharmaceutical Company, Ltd. (Japan) (‘Santen’).




Verily and Santen acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of a newly formed joint venture.
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:






—


Verily focuses on life sciences and healthcare. It creates innovative tools and technologies to prevent and manage disease, partnering with life sciences, medical device and government organisations,










—


Santen is a pharmaceutical company focused on ophthalmology. It carries out research and development, marketing and sales of pharmaceutical products,










—


The joint venture will research, develop and commercialise a portfolio of ophthalmology devices designed to treat or diagnose eye disorders or otherwise provide tools to assist patients, caregivers, or providers to manage overall eye health.






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.9812 – Verily Life Sciences/Santen Pharmaceutical/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.