On Tuesday 25 July, the European Commission announced its decision to open a formal investigation into whether the Vivendi group had breached the notification and suspension obligations in its acquisition of Lagardère. These obligations are set out in the European regulation on the control of concentrations between undertakings (EC regulation no. 139/2004) for concentrations with a European dimension.
The Executive Vice-President responsible for Competition Policy, Margrethe Vestager, considers that at this stage the European Commission has gathered sufficient information to open this formal investigation procedure.
This procedure is separate from the authorisation granted by the Commission on 9 June for Vivendi’s acquisition of Lagardère. At the time, the Commission granted its authorisation subject to Vivendi’s full compliance with commitments aimed at remedying potential significant effects on competition generated by the merger (see EUROPE 13199/21). (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)