EUROPEAN COMMISSION DG Competition

Case M.8621 - APOLLO MANAGEMENT / AEGON IRELAND

Only the English text is available and authentic.

REGULATION (EC) No 139/2004 MERGER PROCEDURE

Article 6(1)(b) NON-OPPOSITION Date: 08/11/2017

In electronic form on the EUR-Lex website under document number 32017M8621

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels,8.11.2017 C(2017) 7535 final

PUBLIC VERSION

To the notifying party:

Dear Sir or Madam,

1.1. On 13 October 2017, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which Athene Holding Ltd. ("Athene Holding", US), belonging to the group Apollo Management L.P. ("Apollo", US) acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation control of the whole of Aegon Ireland plc ("Aegon Ireland", Ireland).

2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

−− for Apollo: private investments; investment funds managed by affiliates of Apollo invest in companies and debt issued by companies involved in various business throughout the world.

−− for Aegon Ireland: insurance products and servies. Aegon Ireland has two lines of life insurance products and currently conducts business in the United Kingdom and Germany. Aegon Ireland has a German branch, which distributes its life insurance products.

3.3. 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

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 356, 21.10.2017, p. 23.

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.

4the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations under Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004.

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

(signed) Johannes LAITENBERGER Director-General

4OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.

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