29.6.2017   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 205/59

1.

On 20 June 2017, the Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which the undertakings Harng Central Department Store Ltd (‘Central’, Thailand) and Berlin, Tauentzienstraße 21-24 Beteiligung A Sàrl, a subsidiary of SIGNA Prime Selection AG (‘SIGNA’, Austria) acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control over Berlin, Passauer Straße 1-3 Immobilien GmbH & Co. KG (‘JVCo’, Germany), by way of purchase of shares.

2.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—   for Central: family owned holding company which is active through subsidiaries in merchandising, real estate, retailing, hospitality and restaurants activities primarily in Southeast Asia including Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.

—   for SIGNA: engaged in real estate activities, i.e. purchase, rent, lease and management of land and buildings as well as project development. The associated group under the control of SIGNA Retail GmbH is active in retail trade and operates, in particular, the Karstadt department store chain.

—   for JVCo: owner of a real estate property plot in Berlin which is currently occupied by a multi storey car park.

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.8500 — Central/SIGNA Prime/JVCo, to the following address: