CELEX: 32020M9574
Language: en
Date: 2020-01-22 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 22/01/2020 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.9574 - ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS / WILMAR INTERNATIONAL / AB MAURI YIHAI KERRY CHINA INVESTMENT HOLDING COMPANY) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
                                                                Brussels, 22.01.2020
                                                                C(2020) 430 final
                                                                                 PUBLIC VERSION
                                                                To the notifying parties
Subject:        Case M.9574 — Associated British Foods/Wilmar International/AB Mauri
                Yihai Kerry China Investment Holding Company
                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 19 December 2019, the European Commission received notification of a proposed
        concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which AB Mauri
        China Limited (‘ABM’, China), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Associated
        British Foods (‘ABF’, United Kingdom), and Yihai Kerry Arawana Holdings Co. Ltd.
        (‘YKA’, China), an indirect subsidiary of Wilmar International Limited (‘WILMAR’,
        Singapore), acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger
        Regulation joint control of a newly created joint venture by way of purchase of
        shares.3
2.      The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
             ABF: activities in five main business domains, namely (i) production of baking
              ingredients; (ii) production of sugar; (iii) manufacture of grocery products;
              (iv) supply of agricultural products to farmers; and (v) high street retailing. For its
              subsidiary, ABM: production of yeast and bakery ingredients.
             for WILMAR: oil palm cultivation, oilseed crushing, edible oil refining, sugar
              milling and refining, manufacturing of consumer products, specialty fats,
              oleochemicals, biodiesel and fertilisers as well as flour and rice milling. For its
              subsidiary, YKA: investment activities, mainly in the sectors of oilseed crushing,
              edible oil refining, specialty fats, oleochemicals, processing of corn, wheat and
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 4, 8.1.2020, p. 5.
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---         soybean, sustainable multi-stage processing of rice food and beverage, grain and
        oil technology R&D.
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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