CELEX: 32015M7591
Language: en
Date: 2015-05-13 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 13/05/2015 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.7591 - 3i GROUP / OILTANKING GmbH / OILTANKING GHENT / OILTANKING TERNEUZEN) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

|[pic]                             |EUROPEAN COMMISSION                                                                                      |

                                        Brussels, 13.5.2015
                                        C(2015) 3410 final

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                                        To the notifying parties

Dear Sirs,

Subject:    Case M.7591 - 3i GROUP/ OILTANKING GmbH/ OILTANKING GHENT/ OILTANKING TERNEUZEN
         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 April 2015, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the  Merger  Regulation
    by which 3i Group plc ("3i Group", United Kingdom) and Oiltanking GmbH ("Oiltanking GmbH", Germany) acquire within the  meaning  of  Article
    3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control over Oiltanking Ghent N.V.  ("Oiltanking  Ghent",  Belgium)  and  Oiltanking  Terneuzen  B.V.
    ("Oiltanking Terneuzen", the Netherlands) by way of purchase of shares. [3]

 2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

    -      for 3i Group: investment and investement management with a focus on mid-market private equity, infrastructure and debt management;

    -      for Oiltanking GmbH: the provision of storage services for petroleum products, vegetable oils, chemicals and other liquids and  gases
       and dry bulk on a worldwide basis;

    -      for Oiltanking Ghent: the operation of a storage terminal for bulk liquid oil products in Ghent, Belgium;

    -      for Oiltanking Terneuzen: the operation of a storage terminal for both chemicals and oil products in Terneuzen, the Netherlands.

 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 6 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)
                                        Alexander ITALIANER
                                        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 133, 24.04.2015, p. 10.

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

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                                                                  PUBLIC VERSION

                                                           SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE