CELEX: 32017M8637
Language: en
Date: 2017-11-17 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 17/11/2017 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.8637 - APG / HINES / JV) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
                                                                Brussels, 17.11.2017
                                                                C(2017) 7818 final
                                                                      PUBLIC VERSION
                                                                To the notifying parties
Subject:        Case M.8637 – APG / HINES / JV
                Commission decision pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC)
                                1                                                                             2
                No 139/2004 and Article 57 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area
Dear Sir or Madam,
1.      On 20 October 2017, 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’, the Netherlands), controlled by Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP (‘ABP’,
        the Netherlands), and Hines International Real Estate Holdings LP (‘Hines’, USA) acquire
        within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control over
        a newly created joint venture by way of purchase of shares .3
2.      The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
        −     for APG: a real estate investment fund whose ultimate beneficial owner is ABP, a
              pension administration organisation that specialises in the field of collective pensions
              in the public sector,
        −     for Hines: real estate investment, development, and management.
        −     for JV: will purchase and develop certain plots of land in Dublin, Ireland for
              residential and commercial purposes.
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)
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 370, 31.10.2017, p. 7.
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---    and 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)
                                                   Johannes LAITENBERGER
                                                   Director-General
4  OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.
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