1.   

On 2 June 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:

—	Waterland Private Equity Investments B.V. (‘Waterland’, Netherlands),

—	Orange TopCo B.V. (‘KidsFoundation/Partou’, Netherlands), jointly controlled by Waterland and Onex Corporation.

Waterland will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control of the whole of KidsFoundation/Partou.

The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.

2.   

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are the following:

—	Waterland: an independent private equity investment group focusing on four investment themes: ageing population, outsourcing and efficiency, leisure and luxury, and sustainability. Waterland is mainly active in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and the UK,

—	KidsFoundation/Partou: active in the organization and operation of childcare in the Netherlands and in the UK.

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 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.10780 – WATERLAND / KIDSFOUNDATION / PARTOU

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