1.   

On 19 May 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:

—	Estavayer Lait SA (‘Estavayer Lait’, Switzerland), part of Migros Group,

—	Givaudan SA (‘Givaudan’, Switzerland),

—	Bühler AG (‘Bühler’, Switzerland),

—	Cultured Food Innovation Hub (Switzerland).

Estavayer Lait, Givaudan and Bühler will acquire within the meaning of Articles 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of Cultured Food Innovation Hub, a newly created company constituting a joint venture.

The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.

2.   

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are the following:

—	Estavayer Lait is active in the production and packaging of dairy products, the production and ripening of cheeses, the production of cold sauces and the manufacturing of plant based dairy, cheese and meat alternative products,

—	Givaudan is a global manufacturer and supplier of fragrance and flavor products to the food, beverage and consumer goods industries. It also produces aroma chemicals that can be used as ingredients in the production of flavor or fragrance compounds.

—

Bühler is a globally active technology company which provides technological solutions for plants, equipment and related services for processing foods and manufacturing advanced materials. Its core activities are in technologies for transforming grain into flour and animal feeds, producing pasta and chocolate, and manufacturing die cast components.

3.   

Cultured Food Innovation Hub will provide facilities and knowledge to accelerate the R&D work of third companies which are interested in becoming active in the area of cultured meat, cultured fish and seafood, as well as precision fermentation. Cultured meat, fish or seafood is a meat, fish or seafood produced by in vitro cell cultures of animal cells.

4.   

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.

5.   

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.10653 – ESTAVAYER LAIT / GIVAUDAN / BÜHLER / JV

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