CELEX: 32021M9970
Language: en
Date: 2021-03-15 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 15/03/2021 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.9970 - CORDES & GRAEFE / FACQ) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
                                                                Brussels, 15.03.2021
                                                                C(2021) 1869 final
                                                                                 PUBLIC VERSION
                                                                Cordes & Graefe KG
                                                                Altenwall 6
                                                                28195 Bremen
                                                                Germany
Subject:        Case M.9970 – CORDES & GRAEFE / FACQ
                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 18 February 2021, the European Commission received notification of a proposed
        concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which Cordes &
        Graefe KG (‘Cordes & Graefe’, Germany) intends to acquire within the meaning of
        Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control over the FACQ Group (‘FACQ’,
        Belgium). FACQ includes:
        (a)        FACQ SA;
        (b)        Immobilière les blés d’or SA;
        (c)        Immobilière Weideveld SA; and
        (d)        Renoma SRL.
2.      The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.3
3.      By decision of 17 February 2021, the Commission referred the proposed concentration
        in part to the Belgian Competition Authority pursuant to Article 4(4) of the Merger
        Regulation. This decision therefore relates to the effects of the proposed concentration
        in the Member States other than Belgium, in particular in Germany and Luxembourg.
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 (the ‘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 71, 1.3.2021, p. 62.
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--- 4. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
       for Cordes & Graefe: wholesale and retail supply of sanitary, plumbing,
        ventilation, heating and air conditioning products, electrical equipment, roofing,
        excavation and industrial technologies, mainly to professional customers; and
       for FACQ: retail supply of sanitary, plumbing, ventilation, heating and air
        conditioning products to professional and non-professional customers.
5. 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 6 of the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of
   certain concentrations under Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004.4
6. 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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