Commission Decision of 19/11/2012 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.6745 - SNCF / HASELSTEINER FAMILIEN-PRIVATSTIFTUNG / AUGUSTA HOLDING / RAIL HOLDING) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic) |EUROPEAN COMMISSION | Brussels, 19.11.2012 C(2012)8588 PUBLIC VERSION SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE To the notifying parties: Dear Madam(s) and/or Sir(s), Subject: Case No COMP/M.6745 - SNCF / HASELSTEINER FAMILIEN-PRIVATSTIFTUNG / AUGUSTA HOLDING / RAIL HOLDING Commission decision pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 [1] 1.
On 19th October, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which the undertaking(s) SNCF (France), Haselsteiner Familien-Privatstiftung ("HFPS", Austria) and Augusta Holding AG ("Augusta", Switzerland) acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the undertaking Rail Holding AG (Austria) by way of modification of the current shareholding [2] . 2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are: - for SNCF : rail passenger transportation services, freight and public transportation services in France and other EEA countries; management of the French railway infrastructure and of railway stations property. - for HFPS : investments in small and medium-sized businesses active in different sectors such as the construction sector. - for Augusta : investments in companies, in particular small and medium-sized businesses, active in different sectors such as the real estate sector. - for Rail Holding AG : rail passenger transportation services in Austria through WESTbahn on the line between Vienna and Freilassing.
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 C 330, 27.10.2012, p.16 [3] OJ C 56, 5.3.2005, p. 32.