CELEX: 32018M8973
Language: en
Date: 2018-07-06 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 06/07/2018 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.8973 - Mitsui & Co., Ltd. / Kansai Paint Co., Ltd.) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
                                                                Brussels, 6.7.2018
                                                                C(2018) 4452 final
                                                                       PUBLIC VERSION
                                                                To the notifying parties
Subject:        Case M.8973 – MITSUI / KANSAI / JV
                Commission decision pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC)
                                1                                                                             2
                No 139/2004 and Article 57 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area
Dear Sir or Madam,
1.      On 14 June 2018, the European Commission received notification of a proposed
        concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which the undertakings
        Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Japan, "Mitsui") and Kansai Paint Co., Ltd. (Japan, "Kansai") acquire
        within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control over
        the whole of the undertaking Kansai Helios Coatings GmbH (Austria, the "JV"), currently
        solely controlled by Kansai, by way of purchase of shares.3
2.      The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
        −     Mitsui is a Japanese trading house engaged in a number of world-wide commodity and
              other businesses, including the sale, distribution, purchase, marketing and supply of
              products in business areas such as iron and steel, coal and non-ferrous metals,
              machinery, electronics, chemicals, and energy related commodities;
        −     Kansai is a Japanese based chemical company whose main products are industrial and
              decorative coatings. The company operates under the ALESCO corporate brand;
        −     The JV controls the Helios Group, a European coatings manufacturer. Helios Group
              focuses on industrial applications, but has also some activities in decorative and other
              types of coatings as well as resins, chemicals, adhesives and starches.
1       OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the 'Merger Regulation'). With effect from 1 December 2009, the Treaty on the
        Functioning of the European Union ('TFEU') has introduced certain changes, such as the replacement of
        'Community' by 'Union' and 'common market' by 'internal market'. The terminology of the TFEU will be used
        throughout this decision.
2       OJ L 1, 3.1.1994, p. 3 (the 'EEA Agreement').
3       Publication in the Official Journal of the European Union No C 217, 21.6.2018, p. 29.
Commission européenne, DG COMP MERGER REGISTRY, 1049 Bruxelles, BELGIQUE
Europese Commissie, DG COMP MERGER REGISTRY, 1049 Brussel, BELGIË
Tel: +32 229-91111. Fax: +32 229-64301. E-mail: COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu.
 ---pagebreak--- 3. After examination of the notification, the European Commission has concluded that the
   notified operation falls within the scope of the Merger Regulation and of paragraph 5(c) of
   the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations
   under Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004.4
4. For the reasons set out in the Notice on a simplified procedure, the European Commission
   has decided not to oppose the notified operation and to declare it compatible with the
   internal market and with the EEA Agreement. This decision is adopted in application of
   Article 6(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation and Article 57 of the EEA Agreement.
                                                    For the Commission
                                                    (Signed)
                                                    Johannes LAITENBERGER
                                                    Director-General
4  OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.
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