CELEX: 32016M8012
Language: en
Date: 2016-06-01 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 01/06/2016 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.8012 - HAL INVESTMENTS / COOLBLUE) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

|[pic]                             |EUROPEAN COMMISSION                                                                                      |

                                        Brussels, 1.6.2016
                                        C(2016) 3499 final

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|                                                                       |To the notifying party:                                                |

Dear Sirs,

Subject:    Case M.8012 - HAL INVESTMENTS / COOLBLUE
         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 03 May 2016, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation  by
    which the undertaking HAL Investments B.V. ("HAL", The Netherlands) acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger  Regulation
    control of the undertaking Coolblue Beheer B.V. ("Coolblue", The Netherlands) by way of purchase of shares.[3]

 2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

      – for HAL: an investment company active in a variety of sectors including media, financial services, building  supplies  and  the  maritime
        sector;

      – for Coolblue: an online retailer offering a variety of consumer electronics, including computers and electrical household appliances,  in
        the Netherlands and Belgium.

 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)
                                        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 171, 12.5.2016, p. 8.

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

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                                                                  PUBLIC VERSION

                                                           SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE