EUROPEAN COMMISSION DG Competition

Case M.7890 - LA COMPAGNIE DES CARTES CARBURANT (EDENRED) / UNION TANK ECKSTEIN

Only the English text is available and authentic.

REGULATION (EC) No 139/2004 MERGER PROCEDURE

Article 6(1)(b) NON-OPPOSITION Date: 27/01/2016

In electronic form on the EUR-Lex website under document number 32016M7890

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 27.1.2016 C(2016) 541 final

PUBLIC VERSION

SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE

To the notifying parties:

Dear Sirs,

1.On 5 January 2016, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which the undertakings La Compagnie des Cartes Carburant (“LCCC”, France), jointly controlled by the undertaking Edenred (France) and private individuals, and UNION TANK Eckstein (“UTA”, Germany), jointly controlled by Edenred and Hermes Mineralöl-GmbH (“Hermes”, Germany) and Familien-Gesellshaft Eckstein mbH Verwaltungs-KG (“Eckstein”, Germany), each acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of a newly created company constituting a joint venture (the “JV”, France) by way of purchase of shares.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

−− Edenred provides prepaid corporate services with respect to employee benefits, expense management, incentives and rewards and management of public social programs at global level;

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 011, 14.1.2016, p. 3.

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.

−− LCCC issues and resells fuel and service cards for customers active in commercial goods transport and passenger transport in France;

−− UTA issues fuel and service cards for customers active in commercial goods transport and passengers transport in Europe;

−− Hermes and Eckstein: family-owned holding companies without business operations;

−− the JV will design, process and operate corporate fuel, toll and parking cards in France

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.

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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