CELEX: 32019M9420
Language: en
Date: 2019-09-24 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 24/09/2019 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.9420 - CACEIS / Santander Investment / S3 Spain) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
                                                                Brussels, 24.09.2019
                                                                C(2019) 6963 final
                                                                                 PUBLIC VERSION
                                                                To the notifying parties
Subject:        Case M.9420 – CREDIT AGRICOLE / BANCO SANTANDER /
                SANTANDER SECURITIES SERVICES
                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 02 September 2019, the European Commission received notification of a proposed
        concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which (i) CACEIS
        S.A. (“CACEIS”, France), controlled by Crédit Agricole S.A. (“CASA”, France)
        acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control
        over Santander Securities Services, S.A.U. (“S3 Spain”, Spain), controlled by
        Santander Investment (“Santander Investment”, Spain, which is in turn directly
        controlled by Banco Santander, S.A., Spain), and (ii) CACEIS and Santander
        Investment acquire, within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger
        Regulation, joint control over S3 Latam Holdco 1 (Spain), a newly created company,
        which will comprise the Brazilian, Mexican and Colombian businesses currently
        owned by S3 Spain. The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.3
2.      The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
        −     CACEIS: provides asset servicing to corporate clients, institutional investors,
              banks and brokers;
        −     Santander Investment: carries out all kinds of activities, operations and services
              inherent to the banking business in general and/or related to it; the acquisition,
              holding, enjoyment, administration and disposal of transferable securities, shares
              or holdings in Spanish and foreign companies; and the provision of investment
              services and, where appropriate, complementary activities thereto;
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 306, 10.9.2019, p. 2.
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---    −    S3 Spain and S3 Latam Holdco 1: provide post-trade services, such as depositary,
        custody, fund administration and securities servicing services for institutional
        investors.
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 (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)
                                                  Cecilio MADERO VILLAREJO
                                                  Acting Director-General
4  OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.
                                              2