CELEX: 32017M8467
Language: en
Date: 2017-06-29 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 29/06/2017 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.8467 - BNP PARIBAS / COMMERZ FINANZ) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
                                                                Brussels, 29.6.2017
                                                                C(2017) 4643 final
                                                                        PUBLIC VERSION
                                                                To the Notifying party:
Subject:        Case M.8467 - BNP PARIBAS / COMMERZ FINANZ
                Commission decision pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC)
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                No 139/2004 and Article 57 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area
Dear Sir or Madam,
1.      On 6 June 2017, the European Commission received notification of a proposed
        concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which the undertaking
        BNP Paribas Personal Finance SA (‘BNPP PF’, France), a wholly owned subsidiary of
        BNP Paribas SA, acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation
        sole control of the whole of Commerz Finanz GmbH (‘CFG’, Germany), currently jointly
        controlled by BNPP PF and Commerzbank AG (‘Commerzbank’, Germany), by way of
        purchase of assets.3
2.      The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
        −     CFG: a consumer credits bank, currently jointly owned by BNPP PF and
              Commerzbank, mainly active in the field of loans to individuals in Germany. As part
              of the envisaged transaction, the company will be split between BNPP PF and
              Commerzbank by means of a split-off into two separate and independent business
              units, namely the ‘Point of Sale Finance’ business and the ‘Banking’ business. The
              ‘Point of Sale Finance’ business shall remain with CFG (with BNPP PF as the sole
              shareholder) and will include all activities relating to the distribution of CFG products
              directly to customers or via the point of sale (offline and online) of a retailer.
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 189, 15.06.2017, p. 50.
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---    −    BNPP PF: a financial services company wholly owned by BNP Paribas SA, primarily
        active in the area of consumer credits. BNP Paribas SA is a global banking group
        active in all main banking businesses: retail banking, asset management and services
        as well as corporate and investment banking.
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)
   and 5(d) 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
4  OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.
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