CELEX: 32016M7999
Language: en
Date: 2016-06-07 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 07/06/2016 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.7999 - HEARST CORPORATION / ADVANCE PUBLICATIONS / JV) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

|[pic]                             |EUROPEAN COMMISSION                                                                                      |

                                        Brussels, 07.06.2016
                                        C(2016) 3626 final

                                        [pic]

|                                                                       |To the notifying parties:                                              |

Dear Sirs,

Subject:    Case M.7999 - HEARST CORPORATION / ADVANCE PUBLICATIONS / JV
         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 4 May 2016, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger  Regulation  by
    which the undertakings Hearst Publishing Services, Inc., belonging to The Hearst Corporation  ("Hearst",  United  States  of  America),  and
    Advance Publications, Inc. ("Advance Publications", United States of America) acquire within the meaning  of  Article  3(4)  of  the  Merger
    Regulation joint control of the whole of a joint venture (the "JV") by way of purchase of shares in, and contribution of assets to, a  newly
    created company constituting a joint venture.[3]

 2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

  – for Hearst: newpapers, magazines, cable television,  TV  stations,  credit  rating  services,  medical  information  services  and  internet
    activities.

  – for Advance Publications: newpapers, magazines, internet sites related to its print publications, cable  television,  development  of  film,
    television and digital video programming.

  – the JV will provide procurement, circulation management and back-office services relating to the publishing of  print  magazines,  including
    digital editions thereof, to its parents and to third parties.

 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)
                                                        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 174, 14.5.2016, p. 17.

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

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                                                                  PUBLIC VERSION

                                                           SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE