CELEX: 32016M7891
Language: en
Date: 2016-02-11 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 11/02/2016 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.7891 - THE CARLYLE GROUP / COMDATA) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

|[pic]                             |EUROPEAN COMMISSION                                                                                      |

                                        Brussels, 11.02.2016
                                        C(2016) 954 final

                                        [pic]

|To the notifying party:                                                |                                                                       |
|                                                                       |                                                                       |

Dear Sirs,

Subject:    Case M.7891 – The Carlyle Group/ Comdata
         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 13 January 2016, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation
    by which Comet S.r.l. (Italy), a special purpose acquisition vehicle controlled by CEP IV, a fund managed  by  affiliates  of  the  entities
    doing business as the Carlyle Group (Luxembourg), acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger  Regulation  control  of  the
    whole of the undertaking Comdata S.p.A. (Italy) by way of purchase of shares.[3]

 2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

      – For the Carlyle Group: managing funds that invest globally across four investment disciplines: (i) Corporate Private Equity  (buyout  and
        growth capital); (ii) Real Assets (real estate, infrastructure and energy  and  renewable  resources);  (iii)  Global  Market  Strategies
        (structured credit, mezzanine, distressed, hedge funds, and middle market debt); and (iv) Solutions (private equity fund of funds program
        and related co-investment and secondary activities).

      – For Comdata: business process outsourcing related to customer relationship management, and in particular customer services,  as  well  as
        sales and technical support to companies in the telecommunications, media, energy and financial services industry.

 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(b) and (c) 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 19, 20.01.2016, p. 11.

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

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                                                           SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE

                                                                  PUBLIC VERSION