1.   

On 3 August 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:

—	Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (‘ADM’, U.S.), public company,

—	Marfrig Global Foods S.A (‘Marfrig’, Brazil),

—	PlantPlus Food LLC (‘PlantPlus Food’, U.S.), controlled by ADM and Marfrig.

ADM and Marfrig acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of PlantPlus Food.

The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares in a newly created company constituting a joint venture.

2.   

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—	for ADM: processing of oilseeds, corn, sugar, wheat and other agricultural commodities and a manufacturer of vegetable oils and fats, vegetable protein, meal, corn, sweeteners, flour, biodiesel, ethanol, and other value added food and feed ingredients. ADM has operations globally,

—	for Marfrig: producing beef and beef patty producer. Marfrig is a leading global producer of meat-based ready-to-eat products such as canned beef, beef jerky, sauces and sachets,

—	for PlantPlus Food: developing, producing and selling finished beef-like, pork-like and chicken-like vegetable protein based food products.

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.9898 – Archer-Daniels-Midland/Marfrig Global Foods/PlantPlus Foods

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