11.12.2019   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 416/16


Prior notification of a concentration

(Case M.9635 — BNP Paribas/Ageas/Koninklijke Belgische Touring Club/Optimile)

Candidate case for simplified procedure

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2019/C 416/09)

1.   

On 4 December 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:

BNP Paribas Fortis NV/SA (‘BNPPF’, Belgium),

AG Insurance NV/SA, controlled by Ageas SA/NV (‘AGI’, Belgium),

Koninklijke Belgische Touring Club VZW (‘Touring’, Belgium),

Optimile NV (‘Optimile’, Belgium).

BNPPF, AGI and Touring acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the whole of Optimile.

The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.

2.   

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

for BNPPF: as a subsidiary of the BNP Paribas Group in Belgium, it offers a comprehensive package of banking and financial services for private individuals, professionals, SMEs, public organisations etc. Its subsidiary Arval BNP specialises in vehicle leasing and provides company clients with customised solutions to optimise staff mobility;

for AGI: as a subsidiary of Ageas, it is a multi-channel insurance company operating in Belgium which provides life and non-life insurance products and supplementary pensions. It owns Interparking, a parking operator active in nine European countries, including Belgium;

for Touring: provision of road and travel assistance services, short term leasing, replacement cars and sale of cars, car glass repair and replacement, technical inspection of vehicles and travel insurance. It also offers a multimodal mobility B2B2C app, easy Way;

for Optimile: mainly active in Belgium, it develops and sells mobility related software, including a B2B white-label multimodal app, a B2C multimodal mobility app (Mobiflow) and white-label operator Software as a Service (SaaS) back office platforms for mobility operators such as charge point operators and taxi operators.

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.

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.

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.9635 — BNP Paribas/Ageas/Koninklijke Belgische Touring Club/Optimile

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.