1.   

On 22 October 2020, 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:

—	PreZero International GmbH (‘PreZero’), belonging to the Schwarz Group, both of Germany,

—	SUEZ Nordic AB (‘SUEZ Nordic, ‘Sweden’), belonging to the SUEZ Group (France).

PreZero acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation control of the whole of SUEZ Nordic.

The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.

2.   

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—	PreZero provides waste disposal and recycling services, and is active in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and the United States while the Schwarz Group is also active in the retail sale of consumer goods in Sweden, through its chain of Lidl and Kaufland stores,

—	SUEZ Nordic comprises the waste management operations of the SUEZ Group in Sweden, and is active in the collection, pre-treatment, sorting, recycling, disposal of waste and trading of waste and commodities.

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.10000 — PreZero International/SUEZ Nordic

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