8.10.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 370/15

1.

On 29 September 2016, the Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Nederland BV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz Nederland BV, which is in turn a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler AG (‘Daimler’ of Germany) acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation control of the whole of Athlon Car Lease International BV (‘Athlon’ of the Netherlands), by way of purchase of shares.

2.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—   for Daimler: development, manufacturing and sale of passenger cars and commercial vehicles, as well as provision of automotive financial services, including financing, leasing, insurance and fleet management,

—   for Athlon: car leasing and mobility services.

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.8162 — Daimler/Athlon Car Lease International, to the following address: