Prior notification of a concentration

(Case M.10845 - HG / WCAS / WARBURG PINCUS / NORSTELLA)

Candidate case for simplified procedure

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2022/C 364/05)

On 12 September 2022, 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:

—	HgCapital LLP (‘Hg’, United Kingdom),

—	Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe, LLC (‘WCAS’, United States),

—	Warburg Pincus LLC (‘Warburg Pincus’, United States),

—	Mahalo Group Holdings LLC (‘Norstella’, United States), jointly controlled by Hg and WCAS,

—	Caerus PIKCo S.à r.l. (‘Citeline’, Luxembourg), controlled by Warburg Pincus.

Hg, WCAS and Warburg Pincus will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of Norstella and Citeline (the ‘Combined Group’).

The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares in the Combined Group.

The business activities of the undertakings are the following:

—	Hg is an investor in software and services businesses, with a focus on Europe and the United States,

—	WCAS is a private equity which focuses on investing in healthcare and technology,

—	Warburg Pincus is a private equity firm. Its portfolio companies are active in a variety of sectors, including consumer, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial and business services and technology, media and telecommunications,

—

Norstella is jointly controlled by Hg and WCAS. Norstella is a group of information and intelligence solutions providers for the pharmaceutical and medtech industries, as well as for financial institutions and consulting firms, comprising Evaluate Ltd Managed Markets Insight & Technology, LLC, Panalgo LLC, and The Dedham Group, LLC. Norstella helps customers navigate the drug development and commercialization life cycle,

—

Citeline (formerly Informa Pharma Intelligence) is controlled by Warburg Pincus. It is a provider of specialist market intelligence, data and software for clinical trials, drug development and regulatory compliance in the pharmaceutical, consulting, financial, biotech and medtech industries. It offers a suite of business intelligence tools and solutions to support its customers’ strategy from early-stage portfolio decisions to clinical research and development and commercial planning and analysis.

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 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.10845 – HG / WCAS / WARBURG PINCUS / NORSTELLA

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.