m8676.docx EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 7.11.2017 C(2017) 7495 To the notifying party: Subject : Case M. 8676 - HELLMAN & FRIEDMAN / NETS Commission decision pursuant to Article 6(1 )( b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 1 and Article 57 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area 2 Dear Sir or Madam, 1. On 12 October 2017 , the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which Hellman & Friedman and its parallel funds ("H & F", US) acquire s within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control of the whole of Nets A/S ("Nets", Denmark) .
The concentration is accomplished by way of public bid announced on 25 September 2017 . 3 2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are: - for H & F : private equity firm with offices in San Francisco, New York and London. H & F has investments in a variety of sectors worldwide. - for Nets : provision of payments, cards, and information services in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Estonia. 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 ( b ) 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 ( S igned) Johannes LAITENBERGER 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) OJ L 1, 3.1.1994, p. 3 ( the ' EEA Agreement ' ). (3) Publication in the Official Journal of the European Union No C 356 , 21.10.2017 , p. 20 . (4) OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5 .