Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10984 – MESSER / TOYOTA TSUSHO EUROPE / JV) Candidate case for simplified procedure (Text with EEA relevance) 2023/C 207/03
Date: 2023-06-14
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: chemical industry, economic concentration, electronics industry, energy industry, food industry, gas industry, machinery, merger control, metals, motor vehicle industry, subsidiary








C_2023207EN.01000401.xml










14.6.2023   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 207/4






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.10984 – MESSER / TOYOTA TSUSHO EUROPE / JV)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2023/C 207/03)

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:






—


Messer SE & CO KGaA (‘Messer’, Germany), indirectly controlled by the Messer Industrie GmbH (Germany),










—


Toyota Tsusho Europe S.A. (‘TTE’, Belgium), ultimately controlled by Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC, Japan),










—


A newly created company (‘Target JV’, Germany).




Messer and TTE will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of Target 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 the following:






—


Messer is a producer of industrial gases, speciality gases, medical gases and gas mixtures;










—


Toyota Tsusho Europe is a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota Tsusho Corporation, a trading company operating globally in the metals, parts and logistics, automotive, machinery, energy and projects, chemicals and electronics, and food and consumer services sectors.






3.   

The business activities of the newly set-up Target JV will be the following: Target JV will offer a one-stop-shop service to fleet operators, which will comprise the provision of hydrogen mobility vehicles (e.g. fuel-cell buses), maintenance and fleet management services as well as an on-site production and supply of green hydrogen. The new JV will mainly focus on projects in Europe.



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.10984 – MESSER / TOYOTA TSUSHO EUROPE / 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.