14.9.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 337/9

1.

On 7 September 2016, the Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which the undertaking THOM SAS (‘THOM’, France) acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation control of the whole of the undertaking Stroili Oro SpA (‘Stroili Oro’, Italy) by way of purchase of shares.

2.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—   for THOM: retail sale of jewellery and watches through a network of shops mostly located in France,

—   for Stroili Oro: retail sale of jewellery and watches through a network of shops located in Italy.

3.

On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved. Pursuant to the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations under the Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (2) it should be noted that this case is a candidate for treatment under the procedure set out in this Notice.

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 (+32 22964301), by email to COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu or by post, under reference M.8166 — THOM/Stroili Oro, to the following address: