1.   

On 23 January 2020, 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:

—	Saudi Arabian Oil Company (‘Saudi Aramco’, Saudi Arabia),

—	Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (‘SABIC’, Saudi Arabia).

Saudi Aramco acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control of the whole of SABIC.

The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.

2.   

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—	Saudi Aramco is primarily engaged in the exploration, production and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and oil-based transport fuels as well as in the production and marketing of refined products and petrochemicals.

—	SABIC is primarily active in the production and sale of commodity chemicals (including petrochemicals), intermediates, polymers, fertilizers and metals.

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.9410 — Saudi Aramco/SABIC

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