CELEX: 32020M9521
Language: en
Date: 2020-01-09 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 09/01/2020 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.9521 - BAMESA / SUMITOMO / STEEL CENTRE EUROPE) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
                                                                Brussels, 09.01.2020
                                                                C(2020) 140 final
                                                                                    PUBLIC VERSION
                                                                To the notifying parties
Subject:            Case M.9521 – Bamesa/Sumitomo/Steel Centre Europe
                    Commission decision pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation
                    (EC) No 139/20041 and Article 57 of the Agreement on the European
                    Economic Area2
Dear Sir or Madam,
(1)       On 3 December 2019, the European Commission received notification of a proposed
          concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which the
          undertakings Bamesa Aceros S.L. (‘Bamesa’, Spain), controlled by ARMASFI S.L.,
          and Sumitomo Corporation (‘Sumitomo’, Japan) acquire within the meaning of
          Article 3(1)(b) in conjunction with Art 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of
          the whole of the undertaking Steel Centre Europe s.r.o. (‘SCE’, Czech Republic).
          Prior to the transaction, Sumitomo was already a shareholder in SCE. 3
(2)       The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
          — for Bamesa: distribution of steel through steel service centres;
          — for Sumitomo: trading of metal products, transportation and construction systems,
              environment and infrastructure, chemicals and electronics, media, networks and
              lifestyle related goods, mineral resources, energy and life sciences;
          — for SCE: distribution of steel through steel service centres, mainly in the Czech
              Republic.
(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
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 414, 10.12.2019, p. 32.
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---      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)
                                                    Olivier GUERSENT
                                                    Director General
4   OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.
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