EUROPEAN COMMISSION DG Competition

Case M.9797 - AUNDE GROUP / TOYOTA BOSHOKU / TB KAWASHIMA AUTOMOTIVE TEXTILE (INDIA) JV

Only the English text is available and authentic.

REGULATION (EC) No 139/2004 MERGER PROCEDURE

Article 6(1)(b) NON-OPPOSITION Date: 25/05/2020

In electronic form on the EUR-Lex website under document number 32020M9797

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 25.05.2020 C(2020) 3488 final

PUBLIC VERSION

To the notifying parties

Subject: Case M.9797 — AUNDE Group/Toyota Boshoku/TB Kawashima Automotive Textile (India) JV Commission decision pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 and Article 57 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area

Dear Sir or Madam,

1.1. On 28 April 2020, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which the undertakings AUNDE Achter & Ebels GmbH (Germany), belonging to AUNDE Group SE ("AUNDE", Germany) and TB Kawashima Co. Ltd. ("TBK", Japan) controlled by Toyota Boshoku Corporation ("TB", Japan) acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control over the whole of the undertaking TB Kawashima Automotive Textile (India) Private Ltd. (the "Target", India) by way of purchase of shares.

2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

-− for AUNDE Achter & Ebels GmbH: the development and production of automotive products, including yarns, technical fabrics, textile and leather covers. It is a subsidiary of Aunde, which focuses on the development and production of among others yarns, technical textiles, seat covers and foam parts for the automotive industry under the brands AUNDE, ISRINGHAUSEN and FEHRER for OEMs and suppliers to the automotive industry in Europe and worldwide,

-− for TBK: the development, production and supply of various types of automotive textiles and interior fabrics particularly in Asia. It is an affiliate of TB, a Japanese automotive component manufacturer, which focuses on passenger car seats, seats

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 152, 7.5.2020, p. 3.

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.

for trains and aircrafts as well as on seat components and other interior and exterior vehicle components,

-− for the Target: the manufacture and distribution of interior textiles and fabrics for the automotive industry in India and in neighbouring countries.

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

4OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.

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