CELEX: 32020M9895
Language: en
Date: 2020-09-16 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 16/09/2020 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.9895 - KKR / WAVES UK DIVESTCO) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
                                                                Brussels, 16.09.2020
                                                                C(2020) 6429 final
                                                                               PUBLIC VERSION
                                                                To the notifying party
Subject:        Case M.9895 – KKR / WAVES UK DIVESTCO
                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 18 August 2020, the European Commission received notification of a proposed
        concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which KKR & Co.
        Inc. (“KKR”, US) acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger
        Regulation sole control of the whole of Waves UK Divestco Limited (“Waves”, UK),
        controlled by Coty Inc. The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of
        shares.3
2.      The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
              for KKR: supply of alternative asset funds and other investment products to
                 investors, as well as capital markets solutions for the firm, its portfolio
                 companies and other clients;
               for Waves: production and supply of professional and retail hair and nail
                 products.
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
        paragraphs 5(b) of the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of
        certain concentrations under Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004.4
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 289, 01.09.2020, p. 4.
4       OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, 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--- 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
                                              2