CELEX: 32020M10012
Language: en
Date: 2020-11-24 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 24/11/2020 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.10012 - HG / KKR / CITATION) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
                                                                Brussels, 24.11.2020
                                                                C(2020) 8401 final
                                                                                 PUBLIC VERSION
                                                                To the notifying parties
Subject:        Case M. 10012 – Hg / KKR / Citation
                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 30 October 2020, the European Commission received notification of a proposed
        concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which HgCapital,
        LLP (“Hg”, United Kingdom) and KKR & Co, Inc. (“KKR”, United States of
        America), acquire within the meaning of Articles 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger
        Regulation joint control over the whole of Rocket Topco Limited and its subsidiaries
        (“Citation”, United Kingdom), currently solely controlled by KKR, by way of
        purchase of shares.3
2.      The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
              for Hg: private equity company which manages investment funds that invest
                 mainly in Europe. It has investment offices in London, Munich and New York
                 and, through its subsidiaries, administers capital investments, offers advisory
                 and other services for a variety of participation companies, such as private
                 equity funds, pension funds and other investment companies. In addition, Hg’s
                 activities include raising capital to invest in the European private equity
                 market.
              for KKR: global investment firm, which offers a broad range of alternative
                 asset funds and other investment products to investors and provides capital
                 markets services for the firm, its portfolio companies and third parties.
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 377, 09.11.2020, p.14.
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 Citation: provision of outsourced Compliance (HR/Employment Law,
           Health & Safety) and Quality (ISO certification, supplier verification) services
           to SMEs throughout the UK.
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) 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)
                                                  Olivier GUERSENT
                                                  Director-General
4  OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.
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