Disclaimer :

The Competition DG makes the information provided by the notifying parties in section 1.2 of Form CO available to the public in order to increase transparency. This information has been prepared by the notifying parties under their sole responsibility, and its content in no way prejudges the view the Commission may take of the planned operation. Nor can the Commission be held responsible for any incorrect or misleading information contained therein.

SECTION 1.2

Description of the concentration

1.On May 24 2012, the European Commission received a notification of a proposed

concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (the “Merger Regulation”), according to which Toshiba Tec Corporation (“Tec”) intends to

acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation control of

IBM’s Retail Store Solutions (“RSS”) business by way of a Master Asset Purchase

Agreement.

2.Tec is a majority owned subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation (“Toshiba”), a

multinational corporation which manufactures and markets a diverse range of products

and services, including Retail Solutions.

3.IBM is a U.S. public company active worldwide in the development, production, and

marketing of a wide variety of information technology solutions. IBM’s RSS

Business is involved in the development and distribution of Retail Solutions, including

point-of-sale (“POS”) Systems, self service systems, and related maintenance and

technical support services.

4.The proposed concentration does not threaten to lessen competition in any relevant

market. The Parties’ Retail Solutions business operations are highly complementary

in geographic scope, and the Parties are not close competitors. In addition, the Retail

Solutions industry is highly fragmented with a number of other significant and large

competitors that will remain a substantial competitive constraint to the combined

company post-closing and make tacit coordination impossible.