L103/36 Official Journal of the European Union 24.4.2003 COMMISSION DECISION of 21 February 2002 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market and the EEA Agreement (Case COMP/M.2495 — Haniel/Fels) (notified under document number C(2002) 554) (Only the German text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2003/260[EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com- munity, Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and in particular Article 57(2)(a) thereof, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89 of 21 December 1989 on the control of concentrations between undertakings (!), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1310/ 97 (2), and in particular Article 8(2) thereof, Having regard to the Commission decision of 17 October 2001 to initiate proceedings in this case, Having regard to the opinion of the Advisory Committee on Concentrations (3), Having regard to the final report of the Hearing Officer in this case (4), Whereas: (1)  On 4 September 2001, Haniel Baustoff-Industrie Zu- schlagsstoffe GmbH (‘HBI) notified the Commission under Article 4 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 4064/ 89 (‘the Merger Regulation’) of a planned concentration whereby Haniel was, by share acquisition, to acquire sole control of Fels-Werke GmbH (‘Fels’). (2)  The Commission examined the notification and initially found that the notified transaction fell within the scope of the Merger Regulation and raised serious doubts as to its compatibility with the common market and the EEA Agreement. (1) OJ L 395, 30.12.1989, p. 1; corrigendum OJ L 257, 21.9.1990, p. 13. () OJL180,9.7.1997, p. 1. () 0JC97,24.4.2003. (% 0JC97,24.4.2003. G) On 17 October 2001 the Commission therefore decided to initiate proceedings under Article 6(1)(c) of the Merger Regulation. In so far as the proposed concentration concerned Germany, the Commission adopted a decision on the same day referring the case to the competent authorities of Germany under Article 9(3) of the Merger Regulation. Following a detailed investigation of the case, the Commission has now come to the conclusion that the proposed concentration does not create or strengthen a dominant position as a result of which effective competition would be significantly impeded in a sub- stantial part of the common market. I. THE PARTIES AND THE TRANSACTION HBI is a direct subsidiary of Franz Haniel & Cie GmbH (Haniel), a diversified German holding company. In the construction materials industry Haniel is active in the manufacture and sale of wall-building materials such as sand-lime bricks, aerated concrete and ready-mixed concrete. Haniel's main centre of activities is Germany, but it is also active in the Netherlands through its indirect stake in the Dutch cooperative undertaking Cooperatieve Verkoop- en Produktievereniging van Kalkzandsteenproducenten (‘CVK’). Haniel has a stake in around 30 sand-lime brick factories in Germany, eight in the Netherlands, one in Belgium and two in Poland. It also operates a sand-lime facing brick factory in Den- mark and has a stake in three ready-mixed concrete plants in France. On 16 October 2001 Haniel notified as a concentration its acquisition of Ytong Holding AG (‘Ytong), a subsidi- ary of Rheinisch-Westfilische Kalkwerke AG, which in turn is controlled by the British firm RMC plec. (Case COMP/M.2568 — Haniel/Ytong). The notification is still pending. On 30 November 2001 the Commission