CELEX: 32018M9109
Language: en
Date: 2018-10-15 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 15/10/2018 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.9109 - Alberta Investment Management Corporation / Canada Pension Plan Investment Board / British Columbia Investment Management Corporation / OMERS Administration Corporation / PGGM Vermogensbeheer B.V. / Puget Holdings LLC) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
                                                                Brussels, 15.10.218
                                                                C(2018) 6881 final
                                                                          PUBLIC VERSION
                                                                To the notifying parties:
Subject:        Case M.9109 - OMERS / BCI / AIMCo / PGGM / CPPIB / PUGET
                HOLDINGS
                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 21 September 2018, the European Commission received notification of a proposed
         concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which the undertakings
         OMERS Administration Corporation ("OMERS", Canada), British Columbia Investment
         Management Corporation ("BCI", Canada), Alberta Investment Management Corporation
         ("AIMCo", Canada), PGGM Vermogensbeheer B.V. ("PGGM", The Netherlands),
         ultimately controlled by PGGM Cooperatie U.A. (The Netherlands), and Canada Pension
         Plan Investment Board ("CPPIB", Canada) acquire, within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b)
         and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation, joint control over the whole of Puget Holdings LLC
         ("Puget", USA) by way of purchase of shares.3
2.      The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
             for OMERS: OMERS acts as the administrator of the OMERS pension plans and the
              trustee of the pension funds related to the pension plans. It manages a wide array of
              investments, including in the public equity, fixed income and alternative investment
              markets of Canada and globally;
             for BCI: BCI is a large institutional investor, investing in fixed income, mortgages,
              public and private equity, real estate, infrastructure and renewable resources. BCI is an
              agent of the Government of British Columbia in Canada;
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 347, 28.9.2018, p. 22.
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---        for AIMCo: AIMCo is one of Canada’s largest institutional investment fund managers.
        AIMCo is an agent of HMQ (the legal personification of the Canadian Province of
        Alberta);
       for PGGM: PGGM is subsidiary of PGGM N.V., a Dutch pension administrator
        specialised in the administration of collective pensions. It manages inter alia the
        PGGM Infrastructure Fund;
       for CPPIB: CPPIB is an investment management organisation that invests the funds
        transferred to it by the Canada Pension Plan Fund. It principally invests in public
        equities, private equities, real estate, infrastructure and fixed income investments;
       for Puget: Puget conducts substantially all of its operations through Puget Sound
        Energy which is a regulated utility company providing electric and natural gas services
        in the state of Washington, United States of America. The primary business involves
        electricity generation, transmission and distribution, as well as distribution of natural
        gas.
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(a)
   and (b) 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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