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: 16/08/2022

In electronic form on the EUR-Lex website under document number 32022M10813

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 16.8.2022 C(2022) 5997 final

PUBLIC VERSION

Blackstone Inc. 345 Park Avenue NY 10154 New York United States of America

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board One Queen Street East, Suite 2500 ON M5C 2W5 Toronto Canada

Dear Sir or Madam,

1.1. On 20 July 2022, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation, by which Blackstone, Inc. (“Blackstone”, USA) and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPP Investments”, Canada) will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of Advarra Holdings, Inc. (“Advarra”, USA). The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.

2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are the following:

— for Blackstone: a global alternative asset manager,

— for CPP Investments: an investment management organisation that handles funds transferred to it by the Canada Pension Plan and invests in public and private equities, real state, infrastructure and fixed income investments,

1 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.

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

3 Publication in the Official Journal of the European Union No C 287, 28.07.2022, p. 81.

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 Advarra: a provider of ethical review services and technology solutions to biopharma companies, contract research organizations, and clinical trial sites.

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) and 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) Olivier GUERSENT Director-General

4 OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.

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