CELEX: 32020M9941
Language: en
Date: 2020-10-15 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 15/10/2020 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.9941 - PRIVATE THEORY LUXCO / ARC GROUP) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
                                                                Brussels, 15.10.2020
                                                                C(2020) 7226 final
                                                                                 PUBLIC VERSION
                                                                To the notifying party
Subject:        Case M.9941 – PRIVATE THEORY LUXCO / ARC 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 23 September 2020, the European Commission received notification of a proposed
        concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which the
        undertaking Private Theory Luxco Sàrl (‘Private Theory Luxco’, Luxembourg),
        ultimately controlled by Mr Richard Cashin (a US citizen), acquires within the
        meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control over the whole of
        undertaking ARC Holdings SAS (‘ARC Holdings’, France), parent company of the
        ARC group, by way of purchase of shares.3
2.      The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
              Private Theory Luxco: active in the purchase and management of stocks in
                 other companies. Private Theory Luxco also controls ADI, a spin-off of the
                 ARC group active in the distribution of glassware, dinnerware and
                 kitchenware in Spain and Portugal;
              ARC Group: active in the production and the distribution of tableware
                 products, in particular glassware, dinnerware and kitchenware.
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 325, 2.10.2020, p. 27.
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(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)
                                                  Olivier GUERSENT
                                                  Director-General
4  OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.
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