CELEX: 32020M9668
Language: en
Date: 2020-01-24 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 24/01/2020 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.9668 - JD SPORTS FASHION / IBERIAN SPORTS RETAIL GROUP) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
                                                                Brussels, 24.1.2020
                                                                C(2020) 495 final
                                                                                 PUBLIC VERSION
                                                                To the notifying party
Subject:        Case M.9668 – JD SPORTS FASHION / IBERIAN SPORTS RETAIL
                GROUP
                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 17 December 2019, the European Commission received notification of a proposed
        concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which the
        undertaking JD Sports Fashion Plc ('JD') (the United Kingdom) acquires within the
        meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control of the whole of the
        undertaking Iberian Sports Retail Group SL ('ISRG') (Spain), currently jointly
        controlled by JD, Sonae, SGPS, S.A. and Balaiko Firaja Invest S.L. The concentration
        is accomplished by way of contract.3
2.      The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
             JD: retail of sports apparel and footwear; operation of fitness centres in the United
              Kingdom. The majority shareholder of JD is Pentland Group, which is active in
              the wholesale supply of branded outdoor products to outdoor retailers.
             ISRG: specialised retail sale of sports goods in Spain and Portugal. ISRG was
              previously known as JD Sprinter Holdings 2010, S.L.
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
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 5, 9.1.2020, p. 5.
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---    paragraph 5(d) 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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