1.   

On 14 February 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:

—	The Carlyle Group Inc. (USA) (hereinafter, ‘Carlyle’),

—	LSFX Flavum Topco, S.L. (Spain) (hereinafter, ‘Altadia’), currently controlled by Lone Star Funds (USA) through its holding company LSF10 Flavum Holdings S.à.r.l (Luxembourg).

Carlyle will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control of the whole of Altadia.

The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.

2.   

The business activities of the undertakings concerned:

—	Carlyle is a global alternative asset manager, which manages funds investing globally across three investment disciplines: (i) Global Private Equity; (ii) Global Credit; and (iii) Investment Solutions;

—	Altadia is engaged in the development, production and marketing of ceramic tile intermediates for ceramic tiles used in the construction trade (i.e., in floors, walls and countertops).

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.

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.10603 – CARLYLE / ALTADIA

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