Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10313 — CVC/CDPQ/WAVS) Candidate case for simplified procedure (Text with EEA relevance) 2021/C 266/10
Date: 2021-07-06
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: communications industry, economic concentration, investment company, marketing, means of communication, merger control, pension scheme, provision of services








C_2021266EN.01001301.xml










6.7.2021   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 266/13






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.10313 — CVC/CDPQ/WAVS)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2021/C 266/10)

1.   
On 30 June 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:






—


CVC Capital Partners SICAV-FIS S.A. (‘CVC’, Luxembourg),










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Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (‘CDPQ’, Canada);










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Vision 7 International Inc. (‘Vision 7’, Canada), We Are Very Social Ltd. (‘WAVS’, United Kingdom), Fuse Project LLC (‘Fuse Project’, United States of America), and Metta Communications Ltd. (‘Metta’, Hong Kong) (together the ‘Target’ or ‘Target Entities’), ultimately owned by Blue Focus Intelligent Communications Group C. Ltd. (2) (‘BFICG’, China).




CVC and CDPQ acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the whole of the Target.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.


2.   
The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:






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for CVC: CVC and/or its subsidiaries manage investment funds and platforms,










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for CDPQ: long-term institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and para-public pension and insurance plans in Québec. It invests these funds globally in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, and real estate,










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for the Target: a group of entities active in the provision of marketing and communication services and media buying services. In particular, WAVS is active in Europe as a provider of social media and brand strategy 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 (3) 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.10313 — CVC/CDPQ/WAVS
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)  The Target Entities are currently wholly owned by subsidiaries of BFICG as follows: Vision 7 is owned by Blue Valor Limited (‘BV’); WAVS and Metta are owned by Blue Focus International Limited (‘BFI’ and, together with BV, the ‘Sellers’); Fuse Project is owned by Blue Focus Communication Group of America, Inc. (‘BFCGOA’).

(3)  OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.