1.   

On 15 May 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:

—	TUI AG (‘TUI AG’, Germany),

—	Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (‘RCCL’, Liberia),

—	Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten GmbH (‘Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’, Germany).

TUI AG and RCCL, through TUI Cruises GmbH (‘TUI Cruises’, Germany), acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of Hapag-Loyd Cruises.

The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.

2.   

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—	for TUI AG: the ultimate parent company of the TUI Group, an integrated leisure tourism group operating through its various subsidiaries hotels, cruise ships, airlines, aircraft, travel agencies, tour operators and online portals,

—	for RCCL: a global operator of oceanic cruises,

—	for TUI Cruises: a pre-existing joint venture jointly controlled by TUI AG and RCCL active in the provision of oceanic cruises, primarily to German-speaking customers,

—	for Hapag-Lloyd Cruises: the provision of oceanic cruises, primarily to German-speaking customers.

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.9778 – TUI AG/RCCL/Hapag-Lloyd Cruises

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