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: 22/11/2024

In electronic form on the EUR-Lex website under document number 32024M11792

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 22.11.2024 C(2024) 8406 final

PUBLIC VERSION

Apheon Management S.A. 19-21 route d’Arlon 8009 Strassen Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

LFPI Gestion S.A.S. 30 avenue Kleber 75008 Paris France

Dear Sir or Madam,

(1)(1) On 24 October 2024, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation, by which Apheon Management S.A. (‘Apheon’, Luxembourg) and LFPI Gestion S.A.S (France), controlled by La Financière Patrimoniale d’Investissement S.A.S. (‘LFPI’, France) will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of ECH SAS (‘ECH’, France). () ECH is currently controlled by Apheon.

(2)(2) The business activities of the undertakings concerned are the following:

–– Apheon is a private equity firm with a focus on European markets. It invests in mid-market companies across the following core sectors: Healthcare, Niche industrials, Consumer goods, Services and Media, and

–– LFPI is an investment group active in small & midcap private equity, private debt, real estate, asset management and private banking, with a focus on the French and European markets.

11() OJ 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.

22() OJ L 1, 3.1.1994, p. 3 (the ‘EEA Agreement’).

33() OJ C, C/2024/6794, 8.11.2024.

(3)(3) ECH is active in the French wholesale market for consumer goods (mainly food products such as spices, dry food, preserved food) notably through the following legal entities: Haudecoeur S.A.S, Coexo Centrale S.A.S, Coexo Laures S.A.S, Financière Spigol S.A.S, Centrale Epices Assaisonnement Condiment S.A.S and Flavori International S.R.L.

(4)(4) 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 treatment for certain concentrations under Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004. ()

(5)(5) For the reasons set out in the Notice on a simplified treatment, 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

44() OJ C 160, 5.5.2023, p. 1 (the ‘Notice on a simplified treatment’).

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