CELEX: 32015M7623
Language: en
Date: 2015-07-06 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 06/07/2015 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.7623 - PAMPLONA / PARTNER IN PET FOOD HOLDINGS) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

|[pic]                             |EUROPEAN COMMISSION                                                                                      |

                                        Brussels, 6.7.2015
                                        C(2015) 4731 final

|PUBLIC VERSION                                   |
|                                                 |
|SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE                      |

|                                                                       |To the notifying party                                                 |

Dear Sirs,

Subject:    Case M.7623 - PAMPLONA / PARTNER IN PET FOOD HOLDINGS
         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 3 June 2015, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4, and  following  a  referral
    pursuant to Article 4(5) of the Merger Regulation, by which Pamplona Capital Management LLP and its affiliate Pamplona PE Investments  Malta
    Limited (‘Pamplona’) acquire, indirectly through Pamplona Capital Partners IV, L.P., within the meaning of Article  3(1)(b)  of  the  Merger
    Regulation control of the whole of Partner in Pet Food Holdings, B.V. (‘PPF'’) by way of purchase of shares.[3]

 2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

      – For Pamplona: private equity investment,

      – For PPF: supply of private label and branded industrial pet food.

 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 OJ C 193, 11.6.2015, p. 11.

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