CELEX: 32016M8030
Language: en
Date: 2016-06-20 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 20/06/2016 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.8030 - THE CARLYLE GROUP / CRESTVIEW ADVISORS / NEP GROUP) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

|[pic]                             |EUROPEAN COMMISSION                                                                                      |

                                        Brussels, 20.6.2016
                                        C(2016) 3911 final

                                        [pic]

|                                                                       |To the notifying parties:                                              |

Dear Sirs,

Subject:    Case M.8030 – THE CARLYLE GROUP / CRESTVIEW ADVISORS / NEP GROUP
         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 27 May 2016, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation  by
    which The Carlyle Group ("Carlyle", United States) acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the  Merger  Regulation  joint  control
    over the NEP Group ("NEP", United States) together with Crestview Advisors ("Crestview", United States), which currently has sole control of
    NEP.[3]

 2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

      -     for Carlyle: a global alternative asset manager which invests across four segments – Corporate Private Equity,  Real  Assets,  Global
           Market Strategies and Investment Solutions.

      -     for Crestview: a private equity firm focused  on  the  middle  market,  targeting  investments  in  the  financial  services,  media,
           healthcare, industrials and energy sectors.

      -     for NEP: a production company that provides outsourced broadcast engineering and production  services  to  production  companies  and
           broadcasters around the world for live broadcast major events, such as sports events, award shows, music concerts and studio shows.

 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) 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 197,03.06.2016, p. 7.

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

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                                                                  PUBLIC VERSION

                                                           SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE