CELEX: 32021M10462
Language: en
Date: 2021-10-05 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 05/10/2021 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.10462 - H&F / ZOOPLUS) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
                                                                 Brussels, 5.10.2021
                                                                 C(2021) 7346 final
                                                                                 PUBLIC VERSION
                                                                 Stuart Banks
                                                                 Partner and General Counsel, Europe
                                                                 Hellman & Friedman LLP
                                                                 The Brunel Building
                                                                 2 Canalside Walk
                                                                 London W2 1DG
                                                                 The United Kingdom
Subject:        Case M.10462 – H&F / ZOOPLUS
                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 6 September 2021, the European Commission received notification of a proposed
        concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which the
        undertaking Hellman & Friedman LLC (‘H&F’, US) acquires within the meaning of
        Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control of the undertaking zooplus AG
        (‘zooplus’, Germany) by way of purchase of shares.3
2.      The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
              for H&F: private equity investments in a variety of sectors worldwide,
                 including software, internet & media, financial services, business &
                 information services, energy & industrials, retail & consumer, and healthcare;
              for zooplus: online retail sale of pet supplies through localised and
                 cross-national web shops across 30 EEA countries. The range of products sold
                 by zooplus includes around 8,000 food and accessory items in the dog, cat,
                 small animal, bird, aquarium, and horse categories.
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 367, 13.9.2021, p. 9.
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(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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