Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.12464 – HLA VISTAHERMOSA / SANOPTIS / OFTALVIST) – Candidate case for simplified procedure
Date: 2026-08-03
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: Spain, economic concentration, eye disease, insurance company, investment company, medical institution, merger control








C_202604241EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2026/4241


3.8.2026






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.12464 – HLA VISTAHERMOSA / SANOPTIS / OFTALVIST)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(C/2026/4241)


1.   
On 24 July 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:






—


Sanoptis España, S.L.U. (‘Sanoptis’, Spain), controlled by Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (‘GBL’, Belgium),










—


Clínica Vistahermosa Grupo HLA, S.L.U. (‘HLA Vistahermosa’, Spain), belonging to the ASISA group (‘ASISA’, Spain).




Sanoptis and HLA Vistahermosa will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of Oftalmología Vistahermosa, S.L. (‘Oftalvist’, Spain), currently solely controlled by HLA Vistahermosa.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.


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






—


Sanoptis: a European ophthalmology platform operating in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Austria and Greece. Sanoptis belongs to investment holding company GBL,










—


HLA Vistahermosa: an operator of a network of hospitals throughout Spain. HLA Vistahermosa belongs to ASISA, a leading Spanish health insurance cooperative.






3.   

The business activity of Oftalvist is the following: an ophthalmology group specialising in outpatient eye care services, operating 43 centres across 15 Spanish provinces.



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.12464 – HLA VISTAHERMOSA / SANOPTIS / OFTALVIST
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/2026/4241/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)