Prior notification of a concentration

(Case M.10430 — TowerBrook/Bruneau Group)

Candidate case for simplified procedure

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2021/C 372/11)

On 7 September 2021, 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:

—	TowerBrook Capital Partners L.L.P. (‘TowerBrook’, United States of America), ultimately under the control of Neal Moszkowski and Ramez Sousou.

—	JM Bruneau SAS (‘Bruneau’, France), ultimately under the control of Equistone Partners Europe,

TowerBrook acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control of the whole of Bruneau.

The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—	TowerBrook is an investment management firm whose portfolio companies are active in the consumer goods/services, financial services, healthcare and healthcare services, industrials, technology, media, telecommunication and knowledge sectors.

—

Bruneau sells office supplies through online sales to professional customers, mostly small and medium sized companies. The products sold by Bruneau include stationery, printing consumables and paper reams. Bruneau also offers office equipment and furniture, as well as catering, packaging, and cleaning products. Bruneau operates also under the brands Maxiburo, Muller & Wegener, and Viking.

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.10430 — TowerBrook/Bruneau Group

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

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

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