1.   

On 30 September 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:

—	Fortress Investment Group LLC (‘Fortress Investment’, USA),

—	Majestic Wine Warehouses Limited (‘Majestic Wine Warehouses’, UK) and Les Celliers de Calais S.A.S (‘Les Celliers de Calais’, France).

Fortress Investment acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control of the whole of Majestic Wine Warehouses and Les Celliers de Calais.

The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.

2.   

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—	for Fortress Investment: an investment management firm,

—	for Majestic Wine Warehouses and Les Celliers de Calais: retailers of wine, beer, spirits and other beverages.

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.9524 — Fortress Investment Group/Majestic Wine Warehouses/Les Celliers De Calais

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