Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11707 – OMERS / DWS / GRANDI STAZIONI RETAIL) – Candidate case for simplified procedure
Date: 2024-10-23
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: Canada, Czechia, Italy, advertising, economic concentration, financial services, investment company, merger control, pension scheme, property leasing








C_202406374EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/6374


23.10.2024






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.11707 – OMERS / DWS / GRANDI STAZIONI RETAIL)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(C/2024/6374)


1.   
On 16 October 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:






—


OMERS Infrastructure European Holdings B.V. (‘OMERS Infrastructure’, the Netherlands), controlled by OMERS Administration Corporation (‘OMERS’, Canada),










—


Pan-European Infrastructure Fund IV, SCSp (‘PEIF IV’, Luxembourg), managed by subsidiaries of DWS Group GmbH & Co KGaA (‘DWS’, Germany), controlled by Deutsche Bank AG (‘Deutsche Bank’, Germany),










—


Grandi Stazioni Retail S.p.A. (‘GSR’, Italy).




OMERS Infrastructure and DWS will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the whole of GSR.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.


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






—


OMERS Infrastructure manages the European infrastructure investment platform for OMERS and makes investments into European infrastructure assets. OMERS is the administrator of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System Primary Pension Plan, a Canadian pension fund,










—


DWS is an institutional asset management company which offers active, passive, and alternative investments in a wide range of asset classes (and acting, for these purposes, in its capacity as the investment manager of PEIF IV, the investing fund for the purposes of the notified transaction). Deutsche Bank is a global provider of financial services,










—


GSR leases out retail spaces and manages advertising at 14 railway stations in Italy, and holds a leasehold agreement for the management of a railway station in Czechia.






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.11707 – OMERS / DWS / GRANDI STAZIONI RETAIL
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/2024/6374/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)