Prior notification of a concentration (Case M. 11113 – SADCO / DPDHL / JV) Candidate case for simplified procedure (Text with EEA relevance) 2023/C 206/10
Date: 2023-06-13
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: economic concentration, hydrocarbon, logistics, merger control, oil industry








C_2023206EN.01001501.xml










13.6.2023   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 206/15






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M. 11113 – SADCO / DPDHL / JV)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2023/C 206/10)

1.   
On 6 June 2023, 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:






—


Saudi Aramco Development Company (‘SADCO’, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), controlled by Saudi Arabian Oil Company (‘Saudi Aramco’, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia),










—


Deutsche Post AG, the German parent entity of Deutsche Post DHL Group (together with direct and indirect subsidiaries, ‘DPDHL’, Germany),










—


A greenfield joint venture (‘JV’, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia).




SADCO and DPDHL will acquire within the meaning of Articles 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the newly created 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 the following:






—


Saudi Aramco is primarily engaged in prospecting, exploring, drilling and extracting hydrocarbon substances and processing, manufacturing, refining and marketing these substances,










—


DPDHL is a global logistics group. It operates in over 220 countries and territories and employs approximately 570 000 people. DPDHL operates under two brands (Deutsche Post and DHL).






3.   

The business activities of the JVwill be the provision of procurement and logistics services. This will include storage and warehouse management and optimization, procurement of inventory items on behalf of customers, inventory and transportation management and optimization. The JV will, inter alia, i) develop, operate and maintain relevant facilities, ii) market, develop, sell and provide its services and iii) conduct research and development activities. It will be active in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and possibly in the wider Middle East and North Africa region.



4.   
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 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.


5.   
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.11113 – SADCO / DPDHL / JV
Observations can be sent to the Commission by email or by post. Please use the contact details below:
Email: COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu
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.