CELEX: 32016M7882
Language: en
Date: 2016-01-05 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 05/01/2016 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.7882 - THOMAS H LEE PARTNERS / GOLDMAN SACHS / GCA SERVICE GROUP) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

|[pic]                             |EUROPEAN COMMISSION                                                                                      |

Brussels, 5.1.2016
C(2016) 32 final

[pic]

|To the notifying parties:                                              |                                                                       |

Dear Sirs,

Subject:    Case M.7882 - THOMAS H LEE PARTNERS / GOLDMAN SACHS / GCA SERVICE GROUP
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]

On 30 November 2015, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation  by
which Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. ("THL", of the USA) and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.  ("Goldman  Sachs",  of  the  USA)  acquire  within  the
meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the  Merger Regulation joint control of GCA Services Group, Inc.("GCA", of the USA) by way of purchase of shares.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

      – for THL : investing in growth-oriented global businesses, headquartered principally in North America.

      – for Goldman Sachs : a range of banking, securities and investment services worldwide to a substantial and diversified  client  base  that
        includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals.

      – for GCA : providing facility services, including janitorial and custodial services, contamination control  for  cleanroom  manufacturing,
        facilities maintenance, grounds management, in-sourced production staffing and labour management. GCA operates in the  United  States  of
        America and Puerto Rico.[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(a) and 5(b) of the Commission Notice on a simplified  procedure  for  treatment  of  certain  concentrations  under
Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004.[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 405, 05.12.2015, p. 41.

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

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                                                                  PUBLIC VERSION

                                                           SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE