CELEX: 32020M9602
Language: en
Date: 2020-01-08 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 08/01/2020 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.9602 - BANCO SANTANDER / ALLIANZ POPULAR) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
                                                                Brussels, 08.01.2020
                                                                C(2020) 100 final
                                                                                 PUBLIC VERSION
                                                                To the notifying party
Subject:        Case M.9602 - BANCO SANTANDER / ALLIANZ POPULAR
                Commission decision pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation
                                       1
                (EC) No 139/2004 and Article 57 of the Agreement on the European
                                    2
                Economic Area
Dear Sir or Madam,
1.      On 4 December 2019, the European Commission received notification of a proposed
        concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which Banco
        Santander, S.A. (“Banco Santander”, Spain) acquires within the meaning of Article
        3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation control of the whole of Allianz Popular, S.L.
        (“Allianz Popular”, Spain). The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of
        shares.3
2.      The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
             for Banco Santander: mainly active in retail banking, treasury and insurance,
             for Allianz Popular: Insurance, pension funds and asset management sectors in
              Spain. It is currently jointly controlled by Banco Santander and Allianz Europe, a
              subsidiary of Allianz SE (“Allianz”).
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) and 5(d) 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
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 419, 12.12.2019, p. 15.
4       OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.
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--- 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)
                                               Olivier GUERSENT
                                               Director-General
                                           2