CELEX: 32019M9653
Language: en
Date: 2019-12-23 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 23/12/2019 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.9653 - PON TYRE GROUP / GILDE FUND V / GUNDLACH AUTOMOTIVE CORPORATION) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
                                                                Brussels, 23.12.2019
                                                                C(2019) 9501 final
                                                                                 PUBLIC VERSION
                                                                To the notifying parties
Subject:        Case M.9653 – Pon Tyre Group/Gilde Fund V/Gundlach Automotive
                Corporation
                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 29 November 2019, the European Commission received notification of a proposed
        concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which the
        undertakings Pon Tyre Group B.V. (Netherlands), belonging to the Pon group (“Pon”)
        and Gilde Fund V (Netherlands), managed by Gilde V Management B.V.
        (Netherlands), acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger
        Regulation joint control over the whole of the undertaking Gundlach Automotive
        Corporation (Germany), by way of purchase of shares.3
2.      The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
              for Pon Tyre Group B.V.: Pon Tyre Group B.V. is part of the Pon group. Pon
                 is active in four different business clusters: Automotive including distribution
                 of tyres, Pon Bike, Equipment & Power Systems and Industrial Mobility,
              for Gilde Fund V: Gilde Fund V is a private equity investment company active
                 in the advice to, management of and investment in mid-market companies,
              for Gundlach Automotive Corporation: Gundlach Automotive Corporation is
                 mainly active in the distribution of tyres, wheel rums, fitted wheels, TPMS
                 sensors and related services and provides wheel programs and assembly
                 services to OEMs.
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 412, 9.12.2019, p. 23.
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--- 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.
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