CELEX: 32016M8184
Language: en
Date: 2016-10-21 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 21/10/2016 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.8184 - CVC / CPPIB / PETCO) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

|[pic]                             |EUROPEAN COMMISSION                                                                                      |

                                        Brussels, 21.10.2016
                                        C(2016) 6868 final

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                                        To the notifying parties

Dear Sirs,

Subject:    Case M.8184 – CVC / CPPIB / PETCO
         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 September 2016, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council  Regulation
    (EC) No 139/2004 by which the undertakings CVC Capital Partners, together with its subsidiaries and  CVC  Capital  Partners  Advisory  Group
    Holding Foundation and its subsidiaries (the ‘CVC Group’, Luxembourg) and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board ("CPPIB", Canada) acquire
    within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of Petco Holdings, Inc. ('Petco', the United States) by way  of
    other means.[3]

 2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

  – for CVC Group: advice to and management of investments funds, which hold interests in a number of companies.

  – for CPPIB: investment in public equities, private equities, real estate, infrastructure and fixed income instruments.

  – for Petco: retailing of pet products and services.

 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 365, 4.10.2016, p. 28.
[4]   OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.

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                                                                  PUBLIC VERSION

                                                           SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE