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: 21/06/2023

In electronic form on the EUR-Lex website under document number 32023M11123

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 21.6.2023 C(2023) 4304 final

PUBLIC VERSION

Sumitomo Corporation 3-2 Otemachi 2-Chome Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100-8601 Japan

Vodafone Group Plc Vodafone House The Connection RG14 2FN Newbury, Berkshire United Kingdom

Dear Sir or Madam,

1.1. On 30 May 2023, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation, by which Sumitomo Corporation (‘Sumitomo’, Japan) and Vodafone Group Plc (‘Vodafone’, United Kingdom) will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of DABCO Limited (‘DAB’, United Kingdom), controlled by Vodafone, by way of purchase of shares.

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

—— Sumitomo is a global trading and investment company. It invests in a range of business activities in Japan and around the world, including trading of metal products, transportation and construction of systems, environment and infrastructure, media and digital products, energy, chemicals and electronics,

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 198, 06.06.2023, p. 19

Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111

—— Vodafone is a telecommunications group active in Europe and Africa. It is primarily involved in the operation of mobile and fixed telecommunications networks and the provision of mobile and fixed telecommunications and technology services,

—— DAB’s business activities will be the development and commercialisation of ‘Economy of Things’ products and services to enable connected devices, vehicles, and machines to communicate, transact and trade autonomously with one another, on a user’s behalf, using technologies such as blockchain.

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(a) 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

(Signed) Olivier GUERSENT Director-General

4 OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.

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