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Case No COMP/M.7761 - PERMIRA/ OTPP/ GFKL GROUP/ LOWELL GROUP

Only the English text is available and authentic.

REGULATION (EC) No 139/2004 MERGER PROCEDURE

Article 6(1)(b) NON-OPPOSITION Date: 30/09/2015

In electronic form on the EUR-Lex website under document number 32015M7761

Office for Publications of the European Union L-2985 Luxembourg

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 30.9.2015 C(2015) 6814 final

PUBLIC VERSION

SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE

To the notifying parties:

Dear Sirs,

Subject: Case M.7761 - PERMIRA/ OTPP/ GFKL GROUP/ LOWELL GROUP Commission decision pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 and Article 57 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area

1.On 4.09.2015, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which Permira Holdings Limited ("Permira", Guernsey), via its subsidiary Garfunkelux S.à.r.l, and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board ("OTPP", Canada) acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation, joint control of Metis Bidco Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiaries (together the "Lowell Group", UK) and of Garfunkelux Holdco 1 S.à.r.l. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries (together the "GFKL Group", Germany).

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

-- Permira: a private equity firm active in a variety of sectors that have potential for growth and development, globally;

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.

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

3Publication in the Official Journal of the European Union No C 303, 15.09.2015, p. 7.

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.

-- OTPP: a corporation without share capital responsible for the administration of pension benefits and the investments of pension fund assets on behalf of teachers in Canada;

-- GFKL Group: a provider of consumer debt recovery services operating in Germany;

-- Lowell Group: a provider of consumer debt recovery services operating in the UK.

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(b) of the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations under Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004.

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) Johannes LAITENBERGER Director-General

4OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.

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