Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11438 – AVI / ATAIROS / NNS UK / V SPORTS) – Candidate case for simplified procedure
Date: 2024-01-31
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: economic concentration, holding company, investment, investment company, merger control, professional sport, shareholder, sports body








C_202401222EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series C













C/2024/1222


31.1.2024






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.11438 – AVI / ATAIROS / NNS UK / V SPORTS)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(C/2024/1222)


1.   
On 15 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:






—


A-AV, LLC (‘Atairos’, Cayman Islands), controlled by Atairos Partners, L.P.,










—


NNS UK Investments Ltd (‘NNS UK’, Cyprus), controlled by NASA Private Trust Company Limited (Cayman Islands) as trustee for UK Trust,










—


Aston Villa Investors LLC (‘AVI’, Delaware, United States), controlled by Mr. Wesley R. Edens,










—


V Sports S.C.S. (‘V Sports’, Luxembourg), currently jointly controlled by AVI and NNS UK.




Atairos, NNS UK and AVI will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of V Sports.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.


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






—


Atairos is an independent strategic investment company with offices in New York and Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States,










—


NNS UK is the investment vehicle of UK Trust in V Sports,










—


AVI is the investment vehicle for Mr. Wesley R. Edens’s interest in V Sports,










—


V Sports is a holding company that indirectly holds 100 % of the equity in Aston Villa FC Limited and Aston Villa Women’s Football Club, and a minority, non-controlling interest in the Portuguese football club Vitória Sport Clube – Futebol, S.A.D.






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.
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.


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.11438 – AVI / ATAIROS / NNS UK / V SPORTS
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/2024/1222/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)