CELEX: 32015M7693
Language: en
Date: 2015-07-29 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 29/07/2015 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.7693 - APOLLO / VERALLIA GROUP) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

|[pic]                             |EUROPEAN COMMISSION                                                                                      |

                                        Brussels, 29.07.2015
                                        C(2015) 5498 final

                                        [pic]

|                                                                       |To the notifying party:                                                |

Dear Sirs,

Subject:    Case M.7693 - APOLLO/ VERALLIA GROUP
         Commission decision pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004[1] and Article 57 of the Agreement on the
         European Economic Area[2]

 1. On 6 July 2015, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation  by
    which the undertaking Horizon Holdings III S.A.S. (United Kingdom), controlled by investment funds managed by Apollo Management, L.P. (USA),
    acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation control of the whole of the undertakings Saint-Gobain Emballage S.A.
    (France), Saint-Gobain Vicasa S.A. (Spain), Saint-Gobain Vidros S.A. (Brazil) and Obale S.A.S. (France) which together form  the  speciality
    glass packaging activities of Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A. "Verallia" by way of purchase of shares.[3]

 2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

       – Apollo Management, L.P. invests in companies and debt issued by companies involved in  various  businesses  throughout  the  world,  for
         example in the chemical, financial services, and media industries;

       – Verallia manufactures and supplies glass bottles and jars for the food and beverage industries worldwide.

 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(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)
                                        Alexander ITALIANER
                                        Director-General
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[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 229, 14.7.2015, p. 14.

[4]   OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.

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                                                           SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE

                                                                  PUBLIC VERSION