19.1.2018   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 19/18

1.

On 10 January 2018, the Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1).

This notification concerns the following undertakings:

ABG and Koç acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the whole of OCTE.

The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.

2.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—   for ABG: provision of rental cars, in particular through its Avis and Budget brands. ABG also operates a car sharing network through its Zipcar brand,

—   for Koç: global investment holding company, active in a range of sectors, including energy, consumer durables, cars and finance,

—   for OCTE: provision of car rental services in Greece. OCTE trades as Avis Hellas and has, since 2010, been appointed as ABG’s franchisee in Greece for the Avis and Budget brands.

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 the 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. The following reference should always be specified:

M.8756 — Avis Budget Group/Koç Holding/Olympic Commercial and Tourist Enterprises

Observations can be sent to the Commission by email, by fax, or by post. Please use the contact details below: