EUROPEAN COMMISSION

PRESS RELEASE

Brussels, 23 August 2012

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Dutch shrimp supplier Heiploeg Group by a number of

The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition by the Dutch banks ABN AMRO, and together with the Icelandic bank of the Heiploeg Group, a Dutch supplier of shrimps. The Commission's investigation confirmed that the operation would not raise competition concerns because it will not significantly alter the structure. The Commission's investigation showed that there are no overlaps between the parties' activities in the European Economic Area (EEA), since neither ABN AMRO, Rabobank, Friesland Bank nor Landsbanki are active in the same field as the Heiploeg Group. The Commission also analysed potential spill-over effects since ABN AMRO, Rabobank, Friesland Bank and Landsbanki are active in the markets for retail banking, corporate banking, investment banking and . The Commission concluded that any coordination between ABN AMRO, Rabobank, Friesland Bank and Landsbanki which would restrict competition in breach of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU was highly unlikely, as the joint venture only represents a small part of the parents' portfolio, and is unrelated to their core activities. The Commission therefore concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the EEA or any substantial part of it. The transaction was notified to the Commission on 18 July 2012.

IP/12/909

Companies and products Heiploeg Group is active in the sourcing, processing, distribution and selling of shrimps. ABN AMRO, Rabobank and Friesland Bank, which is itself now part of the Rabobank group, are Dutch financial institutions active in the and internationally. Landsbanki is an Icelandic general bank and credit institution mainly active in retail and corporate banking.

Merger control rules and procedures The Commission has the duty to assess mergers and acquisitions involving companies with a turnover above certain thresholds (see Article 1 of the Merger Regulation) and to prevent concentrations that would significantly impede effective competition in the EEA or any substantial part of it. The vast majority of mergers do not pose competition problems and are cleared after a routine review. From the moment a transaction is notified, the Commission generally has a total of 25 working days to decide whether to grant approval (Phase I) or to start an in- depth investigation (Phase II). A non-confidential version of today's decision will be available at: http://ec.europa.eu/competition/elojade/isef/case_details.cfm?proc_code=2_M_6638

Contacts : Antoine Colombani (+32 2 297 45 13) Marisa Gonzalez Iglesias (+32 2 295 19 25) Maria Pina (+32 2 295 45 30)

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