CELEX: 32015M7805
Language: en
Date: 2015-11-12 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 12/11/2015 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.7805 - APOLLO CAPITAL MANAGEMENT / RBH / LRG FINANCE) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

|[pic]                             |EUROPEAN COMMISSION                                                                                      |

                                        Brussels, 12.11.2015
                                        C(2015) 8053 final

                                        [pic]

|To the notifying parties:                                              |                                                                       |

Dear Sirs,

Subject:    Case M.7805 – APOLLO CAPITAL MANAGEMENT/ RBH/ LRG FINANCE
         Commission decision pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004[1] and Article 57 of the Agreement on the
         European Economic Area[2]

 1. On 16 October 2015, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation
    by which affiliates of Apollo Capital Management, LP (together ‘Apollo’, USA) and Redefine BDL Hotels UK  Limited  (‘RBH’,  United  Kingdom)
    acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of LRG Finance Limited (‘LRG Group’, United Kingdom) by
    way of purchase of shares and a management contract.[3]

 2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

      – for Apollo: investing in various businesses throughout the  world  including,  inter  alia,  companies  in  the  chemical,  real  estate,
        insurance, paper, and television production businesses,

      – for RBH: managing a portfolio of 70  hotels  ranging  from  branded  to  private  label  hotel  properties.  RBH  manages  a  variety  of
        international hotel brands, including IHG, Hilton, Starwood, Accor, Marriott and Wyndham,

      – for LRG Group: operating a portfolio of hotels in the United Kingdom, including within London, around Heathrow and the M4  corridor,  and
        in key regional cities (including Edinburgh, Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and Cardiff)

 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

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[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 351, 23.10.2015, p. 22.

[4]   OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.

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                                                                  PUBLIC VERSION

                                                           SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE