CELEX: 32020M9670
Language: en
Date: 2020-01-17 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 17/01/2020 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.9670 - APMC GROUP / GSEZ CARGO PORTS / GSEZ MINERAL PORT / TIPSP / ARISE) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
                                                                Brussels, 17.1.2020
                                                                C(2020) 345 final
                                                                                 PUBLIC VERSION
                                                                To the notifying party
Subject:        Case M.9670 – APMC GROUP / GSEZ CARGO PORTS / GSEZ
                MINERAL PORT / TIPSP / ARISE
                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 5 December 2019, the European Commission received notification of a proposed
        concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which A.P. Møller
        Capital P/S (‘APMC’, Denmark) acquires within the meaning of Articles 3(1)(b) and
        3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of four project companies with
        concessions to build or operate port terminals in West Africa by way of purchase of
        shares3 as explained in more detail as follows. APMC will acquire along with Caisse
        des Dépôts et Consignation du Gabon (‘CDCG’, Gabon) joint control over Gabon
        Special Economic Zone Ports S.A. ("GSEZ Cargo Ports"), APMC will acquire along
        with Meridiam (Meridiam, France) joint control over Gabon Special Economic Zone
        Mineral Port S.A. ("GSEZ Mineral Port"), APMC will acquire along with Meridiam
        joint control over Arise Mauritania S.A. ("Arise"), APMC will acquire along with
        SNEDAI Groupe (‘SNEDAI’, Ivory Coast) joint control over Terminal Industriel
        Polyvalent de San Pedro S.A. ("TIPSP").
2.      The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
             APMC: fund management company founded in 2017 managing funds focussing
              on infrastructure in growth markets. It is an affiliate in A.P. Møller Holding, a
              major shareholder in A.P. Møller-Maersk A/S (APMM) group, an integrated
              transport and logistics company headquartered in Denmark.
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 425, 18.12.2019, p. 54.
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---        Meridiam: international investment group headquartered in Paris active in the
        development, financing and management of essential infrastructure projects in
        Europe, Canada and the United States.
       CDCG: financial institution, active in investment and lending in the public
        financial sector in Gabon.
       SNEDAI: an Ivory Coast company that mainly works in information and
        communications technology, energy, transportation, real estate and public works.
       GSEZ Cargo Ports: a company operating a cargo terminal and logistics business
        in Owendo, Libreville, Gabon. Post-transaction, GSEZ Cargo Ports will be
        indirectly jointly controlled by APMC and CDCG.
       GSEZ Mineral Port: a Gabonese incorporated company operating a mineral
        terminal in Owendo, Libreville, Gabon. Post-Transaction, GSEZ Mineral Port
        will be indirectly jointly controlled by APMC and Meridiam.
       Arise: a company which holds a concession to build and operate a cargo port at
        Port Autonome de Nouakchott, Mauritania. Post-transaction, Arise will be
        indirectly jointly controlled by APMC and Meridiam.
       TIPSP: a company which holds a concession to build and operate a bulk terminal
        in San Pedro, Ivory Coast. Post-transaction, TIPSP will be indirectly jointly
        controlled by APMC and SNEDAI.
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(a) 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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