Prior notification of a concentration

(Case M.9258 — ANTA Sports Products/FountainVest China Capital Partners GP3/Amer Sports)

Candidate case for simplified procedure

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2019/C 31/09)

On 17 January 2019, 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:

—	ANTA Sports Products (‘ANTA’, Hong Kong),

—	FountainVest China Capital Partners GP3 (‘FountainVest’, Cayman Islands),

—	Amer Sports (‘Amer Sports’, Finland).

ANTA and FountainVest acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of Amer Sports.

The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares through a public tender offer launched on 20 December 2018.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

— for ANTA: development, manufacturing and marketing of ANTA sportswear series for the mass market in China of professional sporting products including footwear, apparel and accessories,

— for FountainVest: private equity firm with a focus on investing in industry leading enterprises with significant growth potential. FountainVest has investments in consumer retail, media & technology, healthcare and industrials businesses,

— for Amer Sports: development, manufacturing and marketing of sporting goods company with internationally recognised brands including Salomon, Wilson, Atomic, Arc’teryx, Mavic, Suunto and Precor.

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.

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.9258 — ANTA Sports Products/FountainVest China Capital Partners GP3/Amer Sports

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

E-mail: COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu

Fax +32 22964301

Postal address:

European Commission

Directorate-General for Competition

Merger Registry

1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

(1) OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the ‘Merger Regulation’).

(2) OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.