Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11516 – FERTINAGRO / AMEROPA / AMEROPA BIOTECH) – Candidate case for simplified procedure
Date: 2024-08-26
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: agricultural holding, agricultural production, cereal-growing, chemical product, economic concentration, fertiliser industry, logistics, merger control, petrochemicals, wholesale selling








C_202405284EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/5284


26.8.2024






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.11516 – FERTINAGRO / AMEROPA / AMEROPA BIOTECH)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(C/2024/5284)


1.   
On 19 August 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:






—


Fertinagro Biotech International, S.L.U. (‘Fertinagro’, Spain),










—


Ameropa DG Holding A.G. (‘Ameropa Holding’, Switzerland),










—


Ameropa Biotech S.R.L. (‘Ameropa Biotech’, Romania).




Ameropa Holding and Fertinagro will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of Ameropa Biotech.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.


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






—


Fertinagro: producer and trader of various categories of fertilizers – complex chemical fertilizers, liquid fertilizers, water-soluble fertilizers, biostimulants and other (micro)nutrients, organic fertilizers,










—


Ameropa Holding: agri-business covering chemical fertilizers, grains and petrochemicals, with activities that span the full supply chain, ranging from production, through logistics and merchandising, to distribution; an important activity is the physical global merchandising and distribution of fertilizer, food & feed products, which is supported and enabled by complementary assets, such as silos, warehouses and port facilities, as well as upstream assets such as fertiliser production plants.






3.   

Ameropa Biotech is a wholesaler of fertiliser currently controlled by Ameropa Holding.



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.11516 – FERTINAGRO / AMEROPA / AMEROPA BIOTECH
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/2024/5284/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)