CELEX: 32016M7992
Language: en
Date: 2016-05-17 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 17/05/2016 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.7992 - STARWOOD CAPITAL GROUP / BANCO SABADELL / JV) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

|[pic]                             |EUROPEAN COMMISSION                                                                                      |

Brussels, 17.5.2016
C(2016) 3041 final

[pic]

|To the notifying parties:                                              |                                                                       |

Dear Sirs,

Subject:    Case M.7992 – STARWOOD CAPITAL GROUP / BANCO SABADELL / 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]

 1. On 15 April 2016, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the  Merger  Regulation
    by which Starwood Capital Group (‘SCG’ of USA) and Hotel Investment Partnership, S.L. (‘HIP’ of Spain) controlled by Banco de Sabadell, S.A.
    (‘BS’ of Spain) acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and Article 3(4) of  the  Merger  Regulation  joint  control  of  HI  Partners
    Starwood Capital Holdco Value Added, S.L. (‘HPSC JV’ of Spain) by way of purchase of shares in a newly created company constituting a  joint
    venture.

 2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

      – for SCG: investing with a core focus on global real estate. SCG invests in a number of asset classes  —  including  multifamily,  office,
        retail, hotel, industrial, residential and commercial land, senior housing, mixed-use  and  golf,  and  in  all  levels  of  the  capital
        structure,

      – for BS: offering banking services to both the retail and business banking markets and,  via  HIP,  operating  hotels  and  offering  real
        estate services.[3]

 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)
Johannes LAITENBERGER
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 144, 23.4.2016, p.20.

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

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                                                                  PUBLIC VERSION

                                                           SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE