CELEX: 32019M9473
Language: en
Date: 2019-10-18 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 18/10/2019 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.9473 - KIRKBI / BLACKSTONE / CPPIB / MERLIN) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
                                                                Brussels, 18.10.2019
                                                                C(2019) 7607 final
                                                                                 PUBLIC VERSION
                                                                To the notifying parties
Subject:        Case M.9473 – KIRKBI / BLACKSTONE / CPPIB / MERLIN
                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 20 September 2019, the European Commission received notification of a proposed
        concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which KIRKBI Invest
        A/S (“KIRKBI”, Denmark), the Blackstone Group Inc. (“Blackstone”, United States
        of America), and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPPIB”, Canada) acquire
        within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of Merlin
        Entertainments plc (“Merlin”, United Kingdom) by way of purchase of shares.3
2.      The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
             KIRKBI: holding and investment company which owns LEGO A/S (active in the
              development, production, and sale of toys and play-based training materials),
             Blackstone: global asset management,
             CPPIB: professional investment organisation that invests those assets of the
              Canada Pension Plan transferred to it that are not currently needed to pay pension,
              disability, and survivor benefits,
             Merlin: owning and operating theme and amusement parks and visitors
              attractions.
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 323, 27.9.2019, p. 101.
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.
                                              2