L 29/40 Official Journal of the European Union 5.2.2003 COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 25 July 2001 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market and the EEA Agreement (Case No COMP/M.2333 — De Beers/LVMH) (notified under document number C(2001) 2365) (Only the English text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2003/79/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, 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 (3, and in particular Article 8(2) thereof, Having regard to the Commission Decision of 18 April 2001 to initiate proceedings in this case, Having regard to the opinion of the Advisory Committee on Concentrations (?), Whereas: (1) On 9 March 2001, the Commission received a notifica- tion of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89 (the Merger Regulation) by which the undertaking Riverbank Investments Limited (Riverbank), controlled by the De Beers Group (De Beers), and Sofidiv UK Limited (Sofidiv), controlled by LVMH Moét Henessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) acquire (') OJ L 395, 30.12.1989, p. 1 (Corrigenda: O] L 257, 21.9.1990, p. 13 () OJL 180, 9.7.1997, p. 1. () 0] C 27,'5.2.2003, p. 8. joint control of a newly-formed company, Rapids World Limited (Rapids World), by way of purchase of shares (constituting a joint venture) (¥). () On 18 April 2001, the Commission decided, in accor- dance with Article 6(1)(c) of the Merger Regulation and Article 57 of the EEA Agreement, to initiate proceedings in this case. (3)  The Advisory Committee discussed the draft of this Deci- sion on 16 July 2001. I. THE PARTIES (4)  De Beers has extensive operations throughout the world. Its principal activities are in the upstream markets of the diamonds pipeline, in particular, the exploration, mining, recovery, valuation and marketing of rough diamonds. It has relatively small activities in relation to polished diamonds and is not active in the market for the retail of jewellery. (5)  LVMH is principally engaged in the production and sale of luxury goods and owns various famous brands intern- ally organised in the following sectors: wines and spirits, fashion and leather goods, fragrances and cosmetics, watches and jewellery, selective distribution, media, art and auctions. (*) Parts of this text have been edited to ensure that confidential infor- mation is not disclosed; those parts are enclosed in square brackets and marked with an asterisk.