18.7.2017   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 232/18

1.

On 10 July 2017, the Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which the undertakings Norgesgruppen ASA (‘Norgesgruppen’, Norway) and Axfood AB (‘Axfood’, Sweden) acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the undertaking Eurocash Food AB (‘Eurocash’, Sweden) by way of a purchase of shares.

2.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—   for Norgesgruppen: food procurement, wholesale and retail distribution in Norway,

—   for Axfood: food procurement, wholesale and retail distribution in Sweden,

—   for Eurocash: retail distribution in eight supermarkets located in Sweden at a short distance from the Norwegian border primarily aimed at Norwegian consumers crossing the border to buy cheaper daily consumer goods.

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. Observations can be sent to the Commission by fax (+32 22964301), by email to COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu or by post, under reference M.8468 — Norgesgruppen/Axfood/Eurocash, to the following address: