EUROPEAN COMMISSION DG Competition

Only the English text is available and authentic.

REGULATION (EC) No 139/2004 MERGER PROCEDURE

Article 6(1)(b) NON-OPPOSITION Date: 19/09/2022

In electronic form on the EUR-Lex website under document number 32022M10612

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 19.9.2022 C(2022) 6790 final

PUBLIC VERSION

Naftna Industrija Srbije a.d. Novi Sad Narodnog fronta 12 21102 Novi Sad Serbia

Dear Sir or Madam,

1.1. On 24 August 2022, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation, and following a referral pursuant to Article 4(5) of the Merger Regulation, by which Naftna Industrija Srbije a.d. Novi Sad (‘NIS’, Serbia), will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control of the whole of HIP-Petrohemija LLC Pancevo (‘HIPP’, Serbia). The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.

2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are the following:

- NIS is a vertically integrated energy company active in research, production and refining of oil and natural gas, sales and distribution of a wide range of petroleum products, as well as the realisation of projects in the fields of petro-chemistry and energetics, and is controlled by PJSC Gazprom (‘Gazprom’, Russia). Gazprom is a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation,

- HIPP is a petrochemical company active in the production and distribution of products such as ethylene, polyethylene and synthetic rubber. HIPP is controlled by the Republic of Serbia.

1OJ 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.

2OJ L 1, 3.1.1994, p. 3 (the ‘EEA Agreement’).

3Publication in the Official Journal of the European Union No C 333, 01.09.2022, p. 16.

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.

4.3. 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(c) of the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations under Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004.

5.4. 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.

6.5. The present decision is taken without prejudice to the application of restrictive measures applicable to certain Russian entities and the assessment thereof that may be made by the competent national authorities of the Member States.

For the Commission

(Signed) Olivier GUERSENT Director-General

4OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.

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