Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11444 – ERG / APEX / PROJECT PINNACLE I) – Candidate case for simplified procedure
Date: 2024-01-24
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: United States, economic concentration, electrical energy, energy production, merger control, ownership, renewable energy, solar energy, wind energy








C_202401057EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series C













C/2024/1057


24.1.2024






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.11444 – ERG / APEX / PROJECT PINNACLE I)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(C/2024/1057)


1.   
On 16 January 2024, 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:






—


ERG S.p.A. (‘ERG’, Italy),










—


Apex Clean Energy Holdings LLC (‘Apex’, United States), ultimately controlled by investment funds managed by an affiliate of Ares Management Corporation (‘Ares’, United States),










—


Project Pinnacle I LLC (‘Project Pinnacle I’, United States), indirectly controlled by Ares.




ERG and Apex will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of Project Pinnacle I.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.


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






—


ERG S.p.A. is active in the production of electricity via onshore wind farms and solar installations,










—


Apex is active in the construction and operation of utility-scale wind energy facilities, with active projects throughout the United States.






3.   

The business activities of the undertaking Project Pinnacle I, a limited liability company, are the ownership and operation of two renewable energy assets located in the United States.



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.11444 – ERG / APEX / PROJECT PINNACLE I
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/2024/1057/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)