CELEX: 32019M9556
Language: en
Date: 2019-10-23 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 23/10/2019 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.9556 - TRITON / GRUPO FERTIBERIA) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
                                                                Brussels, 23.10.2019
                                                                C(2019) 7722 final
                                                                                 PUBLIC VERSION
                                                                To the notifying party
Subject:         Case M.9556 – TRITON / GRUPO FERTIBERIA
                 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 26 September 2019, the European Commission received notification of a proposed
        concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which the
        undertakings Triton Managers V Limited, Triton Fund V GP S.à r.l. and TFF V
        Limited (together Triton Fund V), belonging to a group of independent investment
        funds managed by the Triton group (Channel Islands) acquire within the meaning of
        Article 3(1)(b) and Article 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control over Fertiberia,
        S.A, and its subsidiaries (together ‘Grupo Fertiberia’, Spain), currently controlled by
        Grupo Villar Mir, S.A.U (Spain), by way of purchase of shares.3
2.      The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
             Triton Fund V is an investment firm dedicated to investing primarily in medium
              sized businesses headquartered in Northern Europe, with particular focus on
              businesses in three core sectors, namely Business Services, Industrials and
              Consumer/Health;
             Grupo Fertiberia is active mainly in Europe in the production of traditional and
              special fertilisers for extensive dry land crops, traditional irrigation and drip
              irrigation as well as industrial chemical products, used as raw chemicals for large
              industrial companies active in several industries such as chemical, wood,
              cosmetic or automotive.
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 (the ‘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 332, 3.10.2019, p. 16.
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--- 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)
                                                  Cecilio MADERO VILLAREJO
                                                  Acting Director-General
4  OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.
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