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.

SECTION 1.2

Description of the concentration

On 19 December 2019, the European Commission received the notification of a proposed transaction pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 139/2004 (“Merger Regulation”) concerning the acquisition of joint control by Harng Central Department Store Ltd., Thailand (“Central”), through its indirect subsidiary Skyred Holding 9 S.à r.l., over Mariahilfer Straße 10-18 Beteiligung S.à r.l., Luxembourg (“Mahis JV”), within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and Article 3(4) of the Merger Regulation, together with SIGNA Prime Selection AG, Austria, through its indirect subsidiary SIGNA Prime Capital Invest GmbH, Austria (jointly: “SIGNA Prime”), which currently exercises sole control over Mahis JV, by way of a purchase of shares.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

-̶ Central, which is ultimately held by the Chirathivat Family, as well as its affiliates are active worldwide in merchandising, real estate, retailing, hospitality and restaurants primarily in Southeast Asia including Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. In the EU, Central is active in the retail sector in Italy, Germany and to lesser extent in Denmark. In particular, it operates premium department stores in Berlin, Hamburg and Munich (through The KaDeWe Group).

-̶ SIGNA Prime belongs to the business unit SIGNA Real Estate, which owns real estate properties in city centre locations primarily in Austria and Germany. The business unit SIGNA Retail is active in retail trade and operates, in particular, the department store chain GALERIA Karstadt Kaufhof in Germany. Both the business unit SIGNA Real Estate and the business unit SIGNA Retail are controlled by SIGNA Holding GmbH, which in turn is ultimately controlled by Familie Benko Privatstiftung.

-̶ Mahis JV indirectly holds the real estate property at Mariahilfer Straße 10-18, Vienna, which is currently occupied, in particular, by a furniture store.

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.