Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11380 – INPEX / KHI / IWATANI / JSE) – Candidate case for simplified procedure
Date: 2024-02-07
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: Australia, Japan, economic concentration, energy supply, hydrocarbon, hydrogen production, mechanical engineering, merger control, mineral resources, oil industry








C_202401362EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series C













C/2024/1362


7.2.2024






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.11380 – INPEX / KHI / IWATANI / JSE)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(C/2024/1362)


1.   
On 30 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:






—


INPEX Corporation (‘INPEX’, Japan),










—


Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (‘KHI’, Japan),










—


Iwatani Corporation (‘Iwatani’, Japan),










—


Japan Suiso Energy, Ltd. (‘JSE’, Japan).




INPEX, KHI and Iwatani will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of JSE.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.


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






—


INPEX is an exploration and production company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It engages in the research, exploration, development, production and sales of oil, natural gas and other mineral resources, other related businesses and investment and lending to the companies engaged in these activities,










—


KHI is a manufacturer of ships, rail vehicles, aerospace systems, motorcycles and engines, precision machinery and robots, and provides energy solutions,










—


Iwatani is an integrated energy provider. It engages in a wide range of businesses through its various business segments.






3.   

JSE will liquefy hydrogen in Victoria, Australia and transport it to customers in Japan.



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.11380 – INPEX / KHI / IWATANI / JSE
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/2024/1362/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)