CELEX: 32015M7493
Language: en
Date: 2015-01-29 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 29/01/2015 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.7493 - NATIONAL GRID / ELIA / NEMO JV) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

|[pic]                             |EUROPEAN COMMISSION                                                                                      |

                                        Brussels, 29.1.2015
                                        C(2015) 555 final

|PUBLIC VERSION                                   |
|                                                 |
|SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE                      |

|To the notifying parties:                                     |                                                                       |

Subject:    Case M.7493 - NATIONAL GRID / ELIA / NEMO JV
         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]

Dear Madam(s) and/or Sir(s),

 1. On 5 January 2015, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger  Regulation
    by which the undertaking National Grid Interconnector Holdings Limited ("National Grid", United Kingdom)  and  Elia  System  Operator  NV/SA
    ("Elia", Belgium) acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the  Merger  Regulation  joint  control  of  Nemo  Link  Limited
    ("Nemo", United Kingdom) by way of purchase of shares in a newly created company constituting a joint venture. [3]

 2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

      -     for National Grid : active in the operation of gas and electricity infrastructure in the United Kingdom and in the USA;

      -     for Elia : active in the operation of electricity infrastructure in Belgium and Germany;

      -     for Nemo : will be active in the development, construction and operation of an electricity transmission  interconnector  linking  the
           electricity networks of Belgium and Great Britain.

 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

                                        -----------------------
[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 008, 13.01.2015, p. 10.

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