Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11354 – GRAIN / BAM / BLACKSTONE / PTI) – Candidate case for simplified procedure
Date: 2023-11-16
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: economic concentration, investment company, merger control, telecommunications








C_202301006EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series C













C/2023/1006


16.11.2023






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.11354 – GRAIN / BAM / BLACKSTONE / PTI)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(C/2023/1006)


1.   
On 8 November 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:






—


Grain Management, LLC (‘Grain’, United States), controlled by David J Grain,










—


BlackRock Alternatives Management, LLC, (‘BAM’, United States) in its capacity as investment manager for the BlackRock Global Infrastructure Fund IV, SCSp (‘BGIF IV’, Luxembourg), controlled by BlackRock, Inc. (‘Blackrock’, United States),










—


Blackstone, Inc. (‘Blackstone’, United States),










—


Phoenix Tower US Holdings, L.P. (‘PTI’, United States), currently controlled by Blackstone.




Blackstone, Grain and BAM will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of PTI.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.


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






—


Grain is a private equity firm focused on investments in the communication sector.










—


BAM offers portfolio construction, asset management and investment advisory services. BAM controls and manages investment decisions of BGIF IV, a fund focusing on investments in the digital, transport, energy, and power infrastructure value chain.










—


Blackstone is a global alternative asset manager.






3.   

The business activities of PTI are the following: owning and operating passive wireless infrastructure sites in the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe. Within the EEA, PTI’s business activities comprise of the ownership and operation of passive telecoms infrastructure (towers) in Cyprus, France, Italy, Ireland, Malta and Spain. PTI is also in the process of acquiring towers in Germany.



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 treatment for certain concentrations under Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings (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.11354 – GRAIN / BAM / BLACKSTONE / PTI
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 160, 5.5.2023, p. 1.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2023/1006/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)