Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10398 – DNB / DANSKE BANK / OP / SB1 / EIKA / BALDER / VIPPS / MOBILEPAY / PIVO) (Text with EEA relevance) 2022/C 255/08
Date: 2022-07-04
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: bank, banking, cooperative, economic concentration, electronic money, financial services, holding company, merger control, payment system, provision of services








C_2022255EN.01000901.xml










4.7.2022   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 255/9






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.10398 – DNB / DANSKE BANK / OP / SB1 / EIKA / BALDER / VIPPS / MOBILEPAY / PIVO)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2022/C 255/08)

1.   
On 27 June 2022, 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:






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Vipps AS (‘Vipps’, Norway),










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DNB Bank ASA (‘DNB’, Norway),










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Sparebank 1 Betaling AS (‘SB1’, Norway),










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Eika VBB AS (‘Eika’, Norway),










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Balder Betaling AS (‘Balder’, Norway),










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MobilePay A/S (‘MobilePay’, Denmark), wholly owned and controlled by Danske Bank A/S (‘Danske Bank’, Denmark),










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Pivo Wallet OY (‘Pivo’, Finland), part of the OP Group controlled by OP Osuuskunta (‘OP’, Finland).




Vipps, MobilePay and Pivo will be combined under a new entity, and DNB, SB1, Eika, Balder, Danske Bank and OP will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the newly created entity.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.


2.   
The business activities of the undertakings concerned are the following:






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Vipps is a provider of mobile payment services in Norway. Vipps offers payment services adapted to a variety of different payment situations, including person-to-person payments (‘P2P’), payment on site (‘POS’), invoice and online payments (eCommerce),










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MobilePay provides payment services in Denmark offering mobile payment services adapted to a variety of different payment situations, including POS, P2P, invoice and eCommerce,










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Pivo offers payment services in Finland. Pivo offers payment services for P2P, online stores, apps and POS,










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DNB is a full-service bank and the parent company of the DNB Group and is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The DNB Group provides banking, investment, insurance, asset management and real estate services to retail customers, corporate clients and the public sector,










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SB1 is a holding company currently owned by 14 independent Norwegian banks bearing the ‘Sparebank 1’ name that cooperate on a common platform and under a common brand,










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Eika is a holding company that is a part of the Eika Alliance, an alliance that currently consists of 63 independent Norwegian banks,










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Balder is a holding company currently owned by 13 independent Norwegian banks,










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Danske Bank is a Nordic-based financial services company incorporated in Denmark. Danske Bank is a full-service bank that provides retail and wholesale banking, pension scheme, life insurance, mortgage finance, asset management, brokerage, real estate and leasing services to retail customers, corporate clients, and the public sector,










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OP is the central cooperative of a Finnish financial service group. OP consists of 118 OP co-operative banks and the central co-operative they own, including its subsidiaries and affiliated entities. OP provides banking, investment, insurance, asset management and real estate services to retail and corporate customers.






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.



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.10398 - DNB / DANSKE BANK / OP / SB1 / EIKA / BALDER / VIPPS / MOBILEPAY / PIVO
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’).