CELEX: 32016M8065
Language: en
Date: 2016-07-04 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 04/07/2016 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.8065 - VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS / HEARST CORPORATION / COMPLEX MEDIA HOLDINGS) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

|[pic]                             |EUROPEAN COMMISSION                                                                                      |

                                        Brussels, 4.7.2016
                                        C(2016) 4337 final

                                        [pic]

                                        To the notifying parties

Dear Sirs,

Subject:    Case M.8065 – VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS / HEARST CORPORATION / COMPLEX MEDIA HOLDINGS
         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 10 June 2016, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by
    which the undertakings Verizon Media LLC ("Verizon" of the United States) and Hearst Group ("Hearst" of the United  States)  acquire  within
    the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of  the undertaking Complex Media Inc ("Complex" of the United States)
    by way of purchase of shares.[3]

 2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

  – for Verizon: provider of communications, information and entertainment products and  services  to  consumers,  businesses  and  governmental
    agencies;

  – for Hearst: provision of media and information, including ownership in cable television channels, newspapers and investments in digital  and
    video companies;

  – for Complex : provision of digital media content (predominantly text articles and short-form videos) that is  focused  on  American  popular
    culture, which is primarily distributed via its own websites and other platforms.

 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 221, 18.06.2016, p. 9.
[4]   OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.

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                                                           SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE

                                                                  PUBLIC VERSION