Commission Decision of 29/08/2011 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.6176 - MITSUBISHI CORPORATION / BARCLAYS BANK / WALNEY I TOPCO / WALNEY II TOPCO / SHERINGHAM SHOAL TOPCO) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic) |EUROPEAN COMMISSION | Brussels , 29.08.2011 SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE C(2011)6256 SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE To the notifying parties Dear Madam(s) and/or Sir(s), Subject: Case No COMP/M.6176 - MITSUBISHI CORPORATION/ BARCLAYS BANK/ WALNEY I TOPCO / WALNEY II TOPCO/ SHERINGHAM SHOAL TOPCO Commission decision pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 [1] 1.
On 29.07.2011, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which Mitsubishi Corporation, ("MC", Japan) acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control over WALNEY I TOPCO ("W1 TOPCO"), WALNEY II TOPCO ("W2 TOPCO") and SHERINGHAM SHOAL TOPCO ("SS TOPCO") with Barclays Bank plc ("Barclays", United Kingdom) by way of acquisition of shares [2] . 2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are: - for MC: global trading company, with activities related to energy, metals, machinery, chemicals, food and general merchandise. - for Barclays: global financial services provider engaged in retail banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking and wealth management. - for W1 TOPCO: newly incorporated company which will acquire the offshore electricity transmission activities of the wind farm project Walney I. - for W2 TOPCO and SS TOPCO: companies that will be created to acquire the offshore electricity transmission assets of the wind farm projects Walney II and Sheringham Shoal.
3. The proposed concentration relates to the purchase of shares in legal entities which are engaged in a business with a market turnover in the EEA. The essence of the economic activity is the transmission of electricity from three offshore wind farms to the UK's national electricity network and the maintenance of all assets needed to provide this service, in return for consideration. It follows that the transaction is a concentration within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation. 4. 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 [3] .
5. 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 C 230, 05.08.2011, p.5 [3] OJ C 56, 5.3.2005, p. 32.