CELEX: 32014M7374
Language: en
Date: 2014-09-05 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 05/09/2014 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.7374 - BAIN CAPITAL / ITOCHU / BELLSYSTEM) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

|[pic]                             |EUROPEAN COMMISSION                                                                                      |
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                                        Brussels, 5.09.2014
                                        C(2014) 6412

|To the notifying parties:                                         |                                                                          |
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Dear Madam(s) and/or Sir(s),

Subject:    Case M.7374 – BAIN CAPITAL /ITOCHU / BELLSYSTEMS
         Commission decision pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004[1]

 1. On 11 August 2014, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the  Merger  Regulation
    by which the undertaking Bain Capital Investors, LLC ("Bain Capital", United States of America)  and  Itochu  Corporation  ("Itochu",  Japan)
    acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger  Regulation  joint  control  of  the  undertaking  Bellsystem  24  Holdings  Inc.
    ("Bellsystem", Japan) currently controlled by Bain Capital, by way of purchase of shares.

 2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

      -     Bain Capital provides advice to and management of investment funds. Bain Capital is the ultimate general partner  of  private  equity
           investment funds constituting limited partnerships.

      -     Itochu is active in  general  trading  in  the  textiles,  metals/minerals,  food,  machinery,  energy,  chemicals,  and  ICT/general
           products/real estate sectors. Itochu is the ultimate parent company of the Itochu Group.

      -     Bellsystem provides customer relationship management outsourcing services, contract research services for pharmaceutical and  medical
           industry and internet applications. [2]

 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) of the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain  concentrations  under  Council
    Regulation (EC) No 139/2004.[3]

 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.

                                        For the Commission

                                        (signed)
                                        Alexander ITALIANER
                                        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]         Publication in the Official Journal of the European Union No C 274, 21.08.2014, p. 5.

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

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                                                                  PUBLIC VERSION

                                                           SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE