Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10140 — EFMS/VFMF/FocusVision/Confirmit/Dapresy) Candidate case for simplified procedure (Text with EEA relevance) 2021/C 46/04
Date: 2021-02-09
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: consultancy, economic concentration, investment company, market research, merger control, qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis, software








C_2021046EN.01000501.xml










9.2.2021   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 46/5






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.10140 — EFMS/VFMF/FocusVision/Confirmit/Dapresy)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2021/C 46/04)

1.   
On 1 February 2021, 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:






—


EQT Fund Management S.à r.l. (‘EFMS’, Luxembourg), controlled by EQT AB;










—


Verdane Fund Manager Future AB (‘VFMF’, Sweden), controlled by Verdane Advisors Holding AS;










—


Confirmit AS (‘Confirmit’, Norway), controlled by VFMF;










—


Dapresy AB (‘Dapresy’, Sweden), controlled by Confirmit;










—


FocusVision Worldwide, Inc. (‘FocusVision’, United States), controlled by EFMS.




EFMS and VFMF acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of Confirmit, Dapresy and FocusVision.
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 EFMS: an investment fund manager solely owned by EQT AB, headquartered in Sweden. EFMS controls EQT Mid Market US, an investment fund with a committed capital of approximately USD 688 million, that seeks to make investments focusing on middle market companies in North America;










—


for VFMF: an investment fund manager of certain Verdane funds, ultimately owned by Verdane Advisors Holding AS, headquartered in Sweden. The Verdane funds invest in companies active in the consumer internet, software, energy and advanced industrial sectors, with a focus on the Nordic countries;










—


for Confirmit: a global vendor for multi-channel customer experience, employee engagement, and market research solutions. It also develops a suite of software tools for market research agencies and in-house research teams of corporate clients. Confirmit is currently controlled by Verdane funds managed by VFMF;










—


for Dapresy: a provider of enterprise application software, more specifically survey software. It has a global expertise in the market research sector and provision of a unified platform to market research customers. Dapresy is currently part of the Confirmit group;










—


for FocusVision: a provider of quantitative and qualitative technology solutions to the market research industry. Focusvision is indirectly controlled by EQT Mid Market US.






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.10140 — EFMS/VFMF/FocusVision/Confirmit/Dapresy
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.