CELEX: 32014M7186
Language: en
Date: 2014-11-04 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 04/11/2014 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.7186 - APG STRATEGIC REAL ESTATE POOL / HAMMERSON / SDMG / MBG / VIA ) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

|[pic]                             |EUROPEAN COMMISSION                                                                                      |

                                        Brussels, 4.11.2014
                                        C(2014) 8327 final

                                        [pic]

|To the notifying parties:                                              |

Dear Madam(s) and/or Sir(s),

Subject:    Case M.7186 – APG STRATEGIC REAL ESTATE POOL/ HAMMERSON/ SDMG/ MBG/ VIA
         Commission decision pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004[1]

 1. On 10 October 2014, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation
    by which APG Strategic Real Estate Pool ("APG"), an entity controlled by Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP ("ABP", the Netherlands) and  Hammerson
    ("Hammerson", the United Kingdom), acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint  control  of  Via,  a  joint
    venture consisting of Via LP ("the Partnership", Jersey), the Partnership's General  Partner  ("the  General  Partner",  Jersey)  and  ManCO
    Limited ("ManCo", the United Kingdom), together with the Meyer Bergman Group ("MGB", the United Kingdom) and  S.D.  Malkin  Properties,  Inc
    ("SDMG", the United Kingdom).[2]

 2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

      – for APG: mutual fund focussing on investment in real estate. ABP, the  ultimate  beneficial  owner  of  APG,  is  the  pension  fund  for
        government and education employees in the Netherlands;

      – for Hammerson: commercial real estate development and the renting and operating of its own commercial real estate. Hammerson owns  stakes
        in 11 shopping centres and 22 retail parks in the United Kingdom and 9 shopping centres in France;

      – for SDMG: development and operation of real estate, focusing on retail shopping outlets;

      – for MBG: real estate investment management;

      – for Via: acquisition, owning and managing of real estate assets primarily in the EU. Its current assets comprise one shopping  centre  in
        each of the Netherlands (Bataviastad) and the Czech Republic (Fashion Arena).

 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(c) 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 368, 17.10.2014, p. 21.

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

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                                                                  PUBLIC VERSION

                                                           SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE