1.4.2006   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 79/21

1.

On 24 March 2006, the Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 and following a referral pursuant to Article 4(5) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which the undertaking Axalto Holding NV (‘Axalto’, The Netherlands) acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Council Regulation control of the whole of the undertaking Gemplus International SA (‘Gemplus’, Luxemburg) by way of purchase of shares.

2.

Both undertakings concerned are suppliers of secure plastic cards and related software, hardware, and services for a variety of applications (SIM card, payment card, etc.).

3.

On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of Regulation (EC) No 139/2004. However, the final decision on this point is reserved.

4.

The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.

Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. Observations can be sent to the Commission by fax (No (32-2) 296 43 01 or 296 72 44) or by post, under reference number COMP/M.3998 — Axalto/Gemplus, to the following address: