Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11509 – MSI / BAM / PORTLAND NATURAL GAS TRANSMISSION SYSTEM) – Candidate case for simplified procedure
Date: 2024-04-04
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: North America, consultancy, economic concentration, energy transport, gas pipeline, investment company, merger control, natural gas, service








C_202402497EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/2497


4.4.2024






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.11509 – MSI / BAM / PORTLAND NATURAL GAS TRANSMISSION SYSTEM)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(C/2024/2497)


1.   
On 22 March 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:






—


Morgan Stanley Infrastructure, Inc. (‘MSI’, USA), belonging to the Morgan Stanley Group (USA),










—


BlackRock Alternatives Management, LLC (‘BAM’, USA), belonging to the BlackRock Group (USA),










—


Portland Natural Gas Transmission System (‘PNGTS’, USA).




MSI and BAM will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the whole of PNGTS.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares and contractual means.


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






—


MSI is a private infastructure-focused investment manager with an investment focus on diverse infrastructure assets,










—


BAM is an investment management company which offers portfolio construction, asset management investment advisory services,










—


PNGTS is a transporter of natural gas in North America, owning a 297-mile pipeline.






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.11509 – MSI / BAM / PORTLAND NATURAL GAS TRANSMISSION SYSTEM
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/2024/2497/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)