Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.9954 — Sumitomo/AAR/JV) Candidate case for simplified procedure (Text with EEA relevance) 2020/C 342/05
Date: 2020-10-14
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: aeronautical industry, economic concentration, investment company, logistics, merger control, service, spare part








C_2020342EN.01003401.xml










14.10.2020   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 342/34






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.9954 — Sumitomo/AAR/JV)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2020/C 342/05)

1.   
On 6 October 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:






—


Sumitomo Corporation (‘Sumitomo’, Japan),










—


AAR CORP. (‘AAR’, USA),










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AAR Sumisho Aviation Services LLC (the ‘JV’, USA).




Sumitomo and AAR acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the JV.
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:






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for Sumitomo: a trading and investment company active in various sectors, such as the trading of metal products, transportation and construction of systems, environment and infrastructure, media, network and lifestyle related products, mineral resources, energy, chemicals and electronics.










—


for AAR: a diversified provider of products and services to worldwide aviation, government and defence markets through its two business segments: (i) Aviation Services; and (ii) Expeditionary Services.










—


for the JV: The joint venture will distribute aircraft parts and offer aviation logistics management solutions to the Japanese defense market, and distribute parts from Original Equipment Manufacturers based in Japan to the global aviation aftermarket.






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.9954 — Sumitomo/AAR/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.