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: 05/01/2024

In electronic form on the EUR-Lex website under document number 32024M11282

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 5.1.2024 C(2024) 80 final

PUBLIC VERSION

Kesko Corporation Työpajankatu 12 00580 Helsinki Finland

Dear Sir or Madam,

1.1. On 05 December 2023, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which Kesko Corporation (‘Kesko’, Finland) will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control of the whole of Davidsen Koncernen A/S (‘Davidsen’, Denmark). The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.

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

-− Kesko is a Finnish retailing conglomerate active within the grocery trade, building and technical trade, and car trade,

-− Davidsen is a Danish distributor of building materials.

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

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, OJ C, C/1539, 14.12.2023.

4OJ C 160, 5.5.2023, p. 1–10.

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

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

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