CELEX: 32021M10151
Language: en
Date: 2021-03-15 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 15/03/2021 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.10151 - LINDE / SIPCHEM / JV) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
                                                                Brussels, 15.3.2021
                                                                C(2021) 1870 final
                                                                                 PUBLIC VERSION
                                                                Linde GmbH
                                                                Dr.-Carl-von-Linde-Str. 6-14
                                                                82049 Pullach i. Isartal
                                                                Germany
                                                                Sahara International Petrochemical
                                                                Company
                                                                P.O. Box 130, 6933 King Saud Road
                                                                31952 Al Hada Dist, Al – Khobar
                                                                Saudi Arabia
Subject:        Case M.10151 - LINDE / SIPCHEM / JV
                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 18 February 2021, the European Commission received notification of a proposed
        concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which Linde GmbH
        (‘Linde’, Germany) and Sahara International Petrochemical Company (‘Sipchem’,
        Saudi Arabia) intend to acquire within the meaning of Articles 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the
        Merger Regulation joint control of a newly created joint venture (the ‘JV’, Saudi
        Arabia) by way of purchase of shares.3
2.      The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
             for Linde: a multinational group of companies, ultimately owned by Linde plc,
              that mainly focuses on gases and engineering services,
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 (the ‘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 65, 25.2.2021, p. 19.
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 Sipchem: Sipchem is the ultimate parent of a group of companies that is active
        in the production and marketing of basic and intermediate petrochemical
        products,
       for the JV: the JV will be active in the onsite supply of industrial gases in Saudi
        Arabia.
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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