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: 13/01/2021

In electronic form on the EUR-Lex website under document number 32021M10038

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 13.1.2021 C(2021) 263 final

PUBLIC VERSION

To the notifying party

Dear Sir or Madam,

1.1. On 9 December 2020, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which Allied Universal Topco LLC (‘Allied Universal’, USA), controlled by Warburg Pincus LLC (USA) and Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (‘CDPQ’, Canada) acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control of the whole of G4S plc (‘G4S’, United Kingdom). The concentration is accomplished by way of public bid announced on 8 December 2020.

2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

-− for G4S: a global integrated security business, offering a broad range of security services around the world including guarding, integrated security solutions, custodial and detention services, immigration, and policing, as well as a broad range of other services, such as health services, crisis planning, facilities management, employment services, and cash solutions,

-− for Allied Universal: a security services and facilities management company which provides: (i) integrated security solutions incorporating manned guarding and security technologies, (ii) cleaning and maintenance services, (iii) risk advisory and consulting services, and (iv) temporary and permanent staffing solutions, to customers across a variety of business sectors. It is mainly active in the United States, and to a lesser extent, in other countries, including the United Kingdom. It is an existing full-function joint venture, jointly controlled by Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm and CDPQ, an institutional investor.

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.

2For the purposes of this Decision, although the United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union as of 1 February 2020, according to Article 92 of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ L 29, 31.1.2020, p. 7), the Commission continues to be competent to apply Union law as regards the United Kingdom for administrative procedures which were initiated before the end of the transition period.

3Publication in the Official Journal of the European Union No C 436, 17.12.2020, p. 23.

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) Olivier GUERSENT Director-General

4OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.

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