CELEX: 32020M9722
Language: en
Date: 2020-03-20 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 20/03/2020 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.9722 - ASTERION / SWISS / EDF / ENERGY ASSET) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
                                                             Brussels, 20.3.2020
                                                             C(2020) 1874 final
                                                                                 PUBLIC VERSION
                                                             To the notifying parties
Subject:        Case M.9722 – ASTERION / SWISS / EDF / ENERGY ASSET
                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 24 February 2020, the European Commission received notification of a proposed
        concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which Asterion
        Industrial Partners SGEIC, S.A. (“Asterion”, Spain), Swiss Life Asset Management
        AG (“SLAM”, Switzerland) and Electricité de France SA (“EDF”, France) acquire
        within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the
        whole of Energy Assets Group (“EAG”, United Kingdom) by way of purchase of
        shares.3
2.      The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
             Asterion is an independent investment management firm focusing on European
              infrastructure,
             SLAM is a leading European provider of comprehensive life and pensions and
              financial solutions to both individuals and corporations,
             EDF is active on the electricity markets (production, wholesale, trading,
              transmission, distribution and supply) as well as in the provision of gas , waste
              recycling and energy services,
             EAG is a provider of industrial and commercial gas and electricity metering and
              data services in Great Britain. EAG also provides multi-utility network
              construction and adoption services to residential and industrial and commercial
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 072, 5.3.2020, p. 6.
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---         within Great Britain. EAG is currently jointly controlled by Alinda Capital
        Partners III Ltd and Hermes GPE LLP.
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)
                                                  Olivier GUERSENT
                                                  Director-General
4  OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.
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