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 25 June 2024, the European Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (“Merger Regulation”). The proposed concentration concerns the acquisition of sole control by bpost SA/NV société de droit public (“bpost”) over Staci SAS and its subsidiaries (“Staci”), within the meaning of Article 3(1) of the Merger Regulation.

Staci is incorporated in France and controlled and wholly owned by the holding vehicle Augusta Progress SAS (“Augusta Progress”). Augusta Progress is incorporated in France and is solely controlled by Ardian Buyout Fund VII B SLP, a fund managed by Ardian France SA ("Ardian").

bpost is a Belgian public company incorporated in Brussels, Belgium. Its shares are held at 51.04% by the Belgian State through the Société Fédérale de Participations et d’Investissements, with the remaining 48.96% freely traded on the Euronext Brussels BEL20 stock exchange.

The proposed concentration will be accomplished by way of a Share Purchase Agreement entered into on 26 April 2024 by which bpost will acquire sole control over Augusta Progress within the meaning of Article 3(1) of the Merger Regulation.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are as follows:

(a) bpost is the historical postal company of Belgium. It is entrusted with providing the universal postal service and certain SGEIs in Belgium. In addition, bpost is active in non-universal mail, parcel delivery services, e-fulfilment logistics services and press distribution in Europe, United States and Asia.

(b) Staci is active in retail logistics services and offers Business to Business (“B2B”) and Business to Consumer (“B2C”) logistics solutions for companies that outsource supply operations for their network or customers. Staci offers these services in Europe, the United States and Asia.

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