Prior notification of a concentration

(Case M-10865 – ASTORG / IPCOM)

Candidate case for simplified procedure

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2022/C 309/06)

On 4 August 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:

—

Astorg VIII SCSpl (‘Astorg Fund VIII’ or ‘Acquirer’, Luxembourg), which is managed by Astorg Asset Management S.à.r.l. (‘AAM’, Luxembourg), which in turn is controlled by Astorg Group S.á.r.l. (‘Astorg Group’, Luxembourg) (Astorg Group together with Astorg Fund VIII and other funds managed by AAM, ‘Astorg’);

—	Isolstar Holding (‘IPCOM’, Belgium).

Astorg will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control of the whole of IPCOM.

The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are the following:

—	Astorg Fund VIII is part of Astorg, which is an independent European private equity firm. It also has offices in London, Paris, Milan, Frankfurt, and New York. The funds belonging to the Astorg Group have invested in a broad range of industries,

—	IPCOM is a European industrial player, headquartered in Belgium, specialized in insulation solutions, serving a wide range of industries e.g. construction, shipbuilding, process industry, energy, petrochemical, automotive, domestic appliances, etc.

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.10865 – ASTORG / IPCOM

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.