CELEX: 32019M9652
Language: en
Date: 2019-12-06 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 06/12/2019 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.9652 - MARQUARD & BAHLS / STARWOOD CAPITAL / GCA) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
                                                                Brussels, 6.12.2019
                                                                C(2019) 8897 final
                                                                                 PUBLIC VERSION
                                                                To the notifying parties
Subject:        Case M.9652 – MARQUARD & BAHLS / STARWOOD CAPITAL / GCA
                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 14 November 2019, the European Commission received notification of a proposed
        concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which the
        undertakings Marquard & Bahls AG (“M&B”, Germany) and Starwood Energy Group
        Global, L.L.C. (“Starwood Energy”, USA), an affiliate of Starwood Capital L.L.C.
        (“Starwood”, USA), acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the
        Merger Regulation joint control over the whole of GCA Holdings LLC (“GCA”,
        USA) by way of purchase of shares.3
2.      The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
             M&B is active in the supply, trading, storage and logistics of energy/petroleum
              products and chemicals. Its core operating units include tank storage logistics,
              trading and aviation fueling,
             Starwood Energy is a private equity investment firm that specializes in energy
              infrastructure investments,
             Starwood is a private investment firm with a primary focus on global real estate,
             GCA is a project company that will build and operate an ammonia production
              facility in Texas, USA. It is currently jointly controlled by M&B and AMGCA
              Partners LLC.
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 395, 22.11.2019, p. 12.
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--- 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)
                                                  Cecilio MADERO VILLAREJO
                                                  Acting Director-General
4  OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.
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