CELEX: 32016M7876
Language: en
Date: 2016-01-11 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 11/01/2016 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.7876 - PANALPINA / DUTCH FLOWER GROUP / AIRFLO) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

|[pic]                             |EUROPEAN COMMISSION                                                                                      |

                                        Brussels, 11.1.2016
                                        C(2016) 126 final

                                        [pic]

                                        |To the notifying parties:                                              |                                                                       |
|                                                                       |                                                                       |

Dear Sir,

Subject:    Case M.7876 - PANALPINA / DUTCH FLOWER GROUP / AIRFLO 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 04 December 2015, the European Commission received notification of  a  proposed  concentration  pursuant  to  Article  4  of  the  Merger
    Regulation by which the undertakings Panalpina Welttransport (Holding) AG ("Panalpina", Switzerland) and Flower Retail Europe B.V.  ("Flower
    Retail", the Netherlands) controlled by Dutch Flower Group B.V. (Netherlands) acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b)  of  the  Merger
    Regulation joint control of the undertakings Airflo B.V. (Netherlands) and Airflo Ltd. (Kenya) (together "Airflo") by  way  of  purchase  of
    shares.[3]

 2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

      – for Panalpina: freight forwarding by air, sea and land and additional services such as logistic contracts;

      – for Flower Retail: trading of floral products;

      – for Airflo: air freight forwarding of perishables, specialised in freight forwarding of fresh cut flowers out of Kenya.

 3. After examination of the notification, the 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 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

                                        -----------------------
[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 411, 11.12.2015, p. 8.

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

-----------------------
                                                                  PUBLIC VERSION

                                                           SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE