Commission Decision of 18/04/2011 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.6085 - COSTA CROCIERE / ALPITOUR / WELCOME JV) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic) |EUROPEAN COMMISSION | Brussels , 18.04.2011 C(2011) 2867 final PUBLIC VERSION SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE To the notifying parties: | | Dear Madam(s) and/or Sir(s), Subject: Case No COMP/M.6085 - COSTA CROCIERE / ALPITOUR / WELCOME JV Commission decision pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 [1] 1. On 16.03.2011, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which the undertakings Costa Crociere S.p.A.
('Costa', Italy), ultimately controlled by Carnival Corporation (Panama) & Carnival PLC (United Kingdom), and Alpitour S.p.A. ('Alpitour', Italy) controlled by the Exor Group (Italy), acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of Welcome Travel Group S.p.A. ('Welcome', Italy), currently controlled by Alpitour, by way of a purchase of shares [2] . 2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are: - Costa operates cruise ships and provides cruises. - Alpitour is a tour operator and provides travel agency, air transport, hotels and destination services. - Welcome operates a network of travel agencies in Italy.
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 [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 C092, 24.03.2011, p.24 [3] OJ C 56, 5.3.2005, p. 32.