Disclaimer :

The Competition DG makes the information provided by the notifying parties in section 1.2 of Form CO available to the public in order to increase transparency. This information has been prepared by the notifying parties under their sole responsibility, and its content in no way prejudges the view the Commission may take of the planned operation. Nor can the Commission be held responsible for any incorrect or misleading information contained therein.

Description of the concentration

On 31 August 2022, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004.

The notified concentration concerns the proposed indirect acquisition of joint control of Wishcard Technologies Group GmbH (“Wishcard”) by EMZ Partners SAS(“EMZ Partners”), IK Investment Partners Limited (“IKPartners”), Oakley Capital and Mr. Valentin Schütt (EMZ Partners, IK Partners, Oakley Capital, Mr. Valentin Schütt and Wishcard hereinafter referred to as the “Parties”) within the meaning of Article 3 (1)(b) and 3(4) of the Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (the “Proposed Transaction”).

The primary business activities of the undertakings concerned are as follows:

•Wishcard: Wishcard is a provider of two-step gift vouchers and B2B gift cards. It operates a technology platform and develops, distributes, and sells multi-brand voucher products for personal gifting and for businesses with flexible redemption options. Wishcard currently operates in Austria, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland.

•IK Partners: IK Partners is a private equity firm that invests in a wide range of sectors with a focus on business services, food and consumer products, industrials and healthcare.

•EMZ Partners: EMZ Partners is a private equity firm with a focus on longterm investments in medium-sized companies in various sectors.

•Oakley Capital: Oakley Capital is a private equity firm with a focus on Western Europe. It invests in mid-market companies across three core sectors: consumer, education and technology.

•Mr. Valentin Schütt: Mr. Schütt is one of the founders of Wishcard.

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.