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Case No COMP/M.4656 - DEUTSCHE BANK / AVIVA / BLACKSTONE / VITUS

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REGULATION (EC) No 139/2004 MERGER PROCEDURE

Article 6(1)(b) NON-OPPOSITION Date: 12/06/2007

In electronic form on the EUR-Lex website under document number 32007M4656

Office for Official Publications of the European Communities L-2985 Luxembourg

EUROPEAN COMMISSION Competition DG

Director General

Brussels, 12/VI/2007

SG-Greffe(2007) D/203509

PUBLIC VERSION

MERGER PROCEDURE ARTICLE 6(1)(b) DECISION

SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURE

To the notifying parties

Dear Madam, Dear Sir,

Subject: Case No. COMP/M.4656 ñ Deutsche Bank/Aviva/Blackstone/Vitus Notification of 2 May 2007 pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 139/2004 Publication in the Official Journal of the European Union No. C 109 of 15 May 2007, page 29

1.On 2 May 2007, the Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 by which the undertakings Deutsche Bank AG ("Deutsche Bank", Germany), Aviva plc ("Aviva", United Kingdom) and the Blackstone Group ("Blackstone", United States) acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Council Regulation joint control of the Vitus Group ("Vitus", Germany), currently solely controlled by Blackstone, by way of purchase of shares in a newly created company constituting a joint venture.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are :

-- for Deutsche Bank : a global investment bank;

-- for Aviva : a holding company of an insurance group;

-- for Blackstone : mainly active in financial advisory services, private equity investing and property investment;

1OJ L 24, 29.1.2004 p. 1

Commission europÈenne, B-1049 Bruxelles / Europese Commissie, B-1049 Brussel - Belgium. Telephone: (32-2) 299 11 11.

- for the Vitus Group : owning, managing and letting mostly residential property as well as some commercial properties, the group comprises seven German real estate companies: BRE/GEWG GmbH ñ D¸sseldorf, Beamten-Baugesellschaft Bremen GmbH ñ Bremen, Bremische Gesellschaft f¸r Stadterneuerung, Stadtentwickling und Wohnungsbau mbH ñ Bremen, Kieler Wohnungsbaubesellschaft mbH ñ Kiel, GAB Gladbacher Baugesellschaft mbH ñ Mˆnchengladbach, RSTE Objektgesellschaft Whonanglagen f¸r Chemnitz mbH ñ Wuppertal and VITUS GmbH ñ Mˆnchengladbach.

2.After examination of the notification, the Commission has concluded that the notified operation falls within the scope of Council Regulation (EC) No. 139/2004 and of paragraph 5 subparagraph c of the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations under Council Regulation (EC) No. 139/2004.

For the reasons set out in the Notice on a simplified procedure, the Commission has decided not to oppose the notified operation and to declare it compatible with the common market and with the EEA Agreement. This decision is adopted in application of Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No. 139/2004.

For the Commission Signed Philip LOWE Director General

2OJ C 56, 05.3.2005 p.32

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