1.   

On 20 June 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:

—	Porsche Holding Gesellschaft m.b.H. (‘Porsche Holding Salzburg’, Austria), an indirect subsidiary of Volkswagen AG and part of the Volkswagen Group (‘VW Group’),

—	SIVA — Sociedade de Importação de Veículos Automóveis, SA (‘SIVA’, Portugal),

—	Soauto — SGPS, SA (‘Soauto’, Portugal).

Porsche Holding Salzburg acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control of the whole of SIVA and Soauto.

The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.

2.   

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—   for Porsche Holding Salzburg: wholesale and retail distribution of passenger cars, light commercial vehicles and related spare parts as well as repair services in European and non-European countries; The VW Group is active worldwide in the development, manufacture, marketing and sale of passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, trucks, buses, coaches, chassis for buses and diesel engines, motor bikes, each including spare parts and accessories, and in vehicle distribution,

—   for SIVA: general importer of most of the VW Group brands in Portugal,

—   for Soauto: retailer of vehicles and spare parts of the VW Group brands and provider of related car repair and maintenance services in Portugal.

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.

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.9389 — Porsche Holding Salzburg/SIVA/Soauto

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

Email: COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu

Fax +32 22964301

Postal address:

European Commission

Directorate-General for Competition

Merger Registry

1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË