Case M.7908 - CMA CGM / NOL
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EUROPEAN COMMISSION DG Competition Case M.7908 - CMA CGM / NOL Only the English text is available and authentic. REGULATION (EC) No 139/2004 MERGER PROCEDURE Article 6(1)(b) in conjunction with Art 6(2) Date: 29/04/2016 In electronic form on the EUR-Lex website under document number 32016M7908 EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 29.04.2016 C(2016) 2767 final In the published version of this decision, some infor- mation has been omitted pursuant to Article 17(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 concerning non- disclosure of business secrets and other confidential in- PUBLIC VERSION formation. The omissions are shown thus […]. Where possible the information omitted has been replaced by MERGER PROCEDURE ranges of figures or a general description. To the notifying party: Dear Sirs, Subject: Case M.7908 – CMA CGM/NOL Commission decision pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) in conjunction with Arti- cle 6(2) of Council Regulation No 139/20041 and Article 57 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area2 1 OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 ('the Merger Regulation'). With effect from 1 December 2009, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ('TFEU') has introduced certain changes, such as the replace- ment of 'Community' by 'Union' and 'common market' by 'internal market'. The terminology of the TFEU will be used throughout this decision. 2 OJ L 1, 3.1.1994, p.3 ("the EEA Agreement"). Commission européenne, DG COMP MERGER REGISTRY, 1049 Bruxelles, BELGIQUE Europese Commissie, DG COMP MERGER REGISTRY, 1049 Brussel, BELGIË Tel: +32 229-91111. Fax: +32 229-64301. E-mail: [email protected]. Contents I. THE PARTIES AND THE OPERATION .................................................................. 4 II. EU DIMENSION ........................................................................................................ 4 III. MARKET DEFINITION ............................................................................................ 4 III.1. Deep-sea container liner shipping services ....................................................... 5 III.2. Container terminal services ............................................................................... 7 IV. COMPETITIVE ASSESSMENT ................................................................................ 7 IV.1. Deep-sea container liner shipping services ....................................................... 7 IV.1.1. General characteristics of the industry ................................................ 7 IV.1.2. Methodology for calculating market shares ........................................ 9 IV.1.3. NOL's membership in the G6 consortium ......................................... 10 IV.1.4. Horizontal overlaps (trade-by-trade assessment) .............................. 10 IV.1.4.1. The view of the Notifying party ........................................ 10 IV.1.4.2. Overview of the overlapping trades .................................. 11 IV.1.5. Affected trades where new links are created between previously unconnected consortia ....................................................................... 13 IV.1.5.1. Northern Europe – North America (NE–NA) ................... 14 IV.1.5.2. Northern Europe – Middle East (NE–ME) ........................ 16 IV.1.5.3. Mediterranean – Indian Subcontinent (MED–INSC) ........ 20 IV.1.5.4. Other affected trades where new links are created between previously unconnected consortia ....................... 23 IV.1.6. Affected trades where no new links are created between consortia 26 IV.1.6.1. Affected trades with market shares above 40% ................ 26 IV.1.6.2. Affected trades with market shares below 40% ................ 29 IV.2. Container terminal services ............................................................................. 32 IV.2.1. Overview of vertically affected markets ........................................... 32 IV.2.2. The view of the Notifying Party ........................................................ 36 IV.2.3. Commission's assessment .................................................................. 36 IV.2.4. Conclusion ......................................................................................... 37 V. PROPOSED REMEDIES .......................................................................................... 37 V.1. Commitments submitted by the Parties ........................................................... 37 V.1.1. Procedure ........................................................................................... 37 V.1.2. Description of the Final Commitments ............................................. 38 V.2. ASSESSMENT OF THE FINAL COMMITMENTS ..................................... 39 V.2.1. The view of the Parties ...................................................................... 39 V.2.2. NE–NA trade ..................................................................................... 39 V.2.3. NE–ME trade ..................................................................................... 39 V.2.4. The results of the market test ............................................................. 39 V.2.5. Commission's assessment .................................................................. 40 V.2.6. Overall conclusion on the Final Commitments ................................. 41 V.3. Conditions and obligations .............................................................................. 41 2 VI. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................... 42 VII. COMMITMENTS ..................................................................................................... 42 3 (1) On 8 March 2016, the European Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/20043 by which CMA CGM (France) acquires sole control of Neptune Orient Lines ("NOL", Singapore) by public bid ("the Transaction").4 CMA CGM and NOL are collective- ly referred to as "Parties". I. THE PARTIES AND THE OPERATION (2) CMA CGM is the parent company, governed by French law, of an international group of companies involved in the sectors of containerised liner shipping and port terminal management. CMA CGM offers a complete range of services including shipping, reefer transport, handling facilities in port as well as freight transport and logistics on land. CMA CGM is currently jointly controlled by Merit, the holding company created by CMA CGM's founder, Mr. Jacques R. Saadé, Yildirim, a Turkish company, and by Bpifrance, a French funding organisation. (3) NOL is Singapore's historical national shipping line. It is currently solely con- trolled by the Singapore Government-owned investment company, Temasek Hold- ings. NOL is active through its container shipping brand American President Lines ("APL"). NOL's business activities encompass all aspects of global cargo container transportation. (4) On 7 December 2015, CMA CGM formally announced its pre-conditional volun- tary offer to acquire the whole of NOL. The acquisition price is approximately USD […]. The Transaction therefore constitutes a concentration within the mean- ing of the Merger Regulation. (5) Through the Transaction, CMA CGM intends to reinforce its presence in Asia. Singapore would become the main hub for the combined entity's operations in Asia. II. EU DIMENSION (6) The undertakings concerned have a combined aggregate world-wide turnover of more than EUR 5 000 million5 (CMA CGM: EUR […] million; NOL: EUR […] million). Each of them has a EU-wide turnover in excess of EUR 250 million (CMA CGM: EUR […] million; NOL: EUR […] million), but they do not achieve more than two-thirds of their aggregate EU-wide turnover within one and the same Member State. The notified operation therefore has an EU dimension. III. MARKET DEFINITION (7) The Parties' activities mainly overlap horizontally in deep-sea container liner ship- ping. The Parties also overlap in short-sea container shipping services from and to Europe, however due to the marginal extent of NOL's activities in this sector, this 3 OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the "Merger Regulation"). 4 Publication in the Official Journal of the European Union No C 100, 16. 3.2016, p. 6. 5 Turnover calculated in accordance with Article 5 of the Merger Regulation and the Commission Con- solidated Jurisdictional Notice (OJ C 95, 16.4.2008, p. 1). 4 will not be discussed any further in this Decision.6 Furthermore, the Transaction creates vertical links between deep-sea container liner shipping services and con- tainer terminal services in which both Parties are active. III.1. Deep-sea container liner shipping services (8) In past cases, the Commission has found that the product market for container liner shipping involves the provision of regular, scheduled services for the carriage of cargo by container.7 This market can be distinguished from non-liner shipping (tramp, specialised transport) because of regularity and frequency of the service. In addition, the use of container transportation separates it from other non- containerised transport such as bulk cargo. A possible narrower product market is that for the transport of refrigerated goods, which could be limited to refrigerated (reefer) containers only or could include transport in conventional reefer vessels. (9) In past cases, the Commission has looked separately at reefer and non-refrigerated (warm) containers only in the case of trades with a share of reefer containers in re- lation to all containerised cargo of 10% or