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: 30/11/2017

In electronic form on the EUR-Lex website under document number 32017M8639

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 30.11.2017 C(2017) 8224 final

PUBLIC VERSION

To the notifying party:

Dear Sir or Madam,

1.1. On 8 November 2017, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which Crédit Agricole Cariparma S.p.A ("Cariparma", Italy) acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation control of the whole of Cassa di Risparmio di Cesena S.p.A. ("Caricesena", Italy), Cassa di Risparmio di Rimini S.p.A. ("Carim", Italy) and Cassa di Risparmio di San Miniato S.p.A. ("Carismi", Italy) by way of purchase of shares.

2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

- for Cariparma: a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole S.A. ("Credit Agricole", France) which is the first bancassurer and asset manager in Europe. The Group Crédit Agricole is present in Italy with a complete range of financial services;

- for Caricesena: active in all areas relating to financial intermediation credit, in northern and central Italy;

- for Carim: active in the retail banking sector in Italy, in particular in the Italian regions of Emilia Romagna, Marche, Umbria and Lazio;

- for Carismi: mainly active in the retail banking sector, in particular in northern and central Italy, in the region of Tuscany.

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 385, 15.11.2017, p. 18.

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.

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 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) Johannes LAITENBERGER Director-General

4OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.

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