Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.12206 – TIL / STEAS / SOCAR TERMINAL) – Candidate case for simplified procedure
Date: 2026-01-22
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: carriage of goods, economic concentration, extraction of oil, gas industry, gas supply, holding company, maritime transport, merger control, petrochemicals, petroleum exploration








C_202600509EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2026/509


22.1.2026






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.12206 – TIL / STEAS / SOCAR TERMINAL)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(C/2026/509)


1.   
On 14 January 2026, 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:






—


Terminal Investment Switzerland Sàrl (‘TISS’, Switzerland), a wholly owned subsidiary of Terminal Investment Limited Holding S.A. (‘TILH’, Luxembourg). TILH is indirectly and jointly controlled by MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company Holding S.A. (‘MSC Holding’, Switzerland) and BlackRock, Inc. (‘BlackRock’, United States of America),










—


SOCAR Turkey Enerji A.Ş. (‘STEAS’, Turkey), controlled by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (‘SOCAR’).




TILH, through TISS, and SOCAR, through STEAS, acquire, within the meaning of Article 3(1), point (b) and Article 3(4) of the Merger Regulation, joint control of SOCAR Aliağa Liman İşletmeciliği A.Ş. (‘SOCAR Terminal’, Turkey), currently controlled by STEAS.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.


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






—


TILH is the holding company of TIL Group, which invests in, develops and manages a portfolio of container terminal businesses around the world. TIL Group provides container terminal services around the world, often in joint ventures with other terminal operators,










—


SOCAR is involved in exploring oil and gas fields, producing, processing, and transporting oil, gas, and gas condensate, marketing petroleum and petrochemical products in domestic and international markets, and supplying natural gas to industry and the public in Azerbaijan.






3.   

The business activities of the undertaking SOCAR Terminal are the following: SOCAR Terminal provides container terminal services in the Aliağa region of İzmir/Türkiye.



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 concentration 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.12206 – TIL / STEAS / SOCAR TERMINAL
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/2026/509/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)