The European Commission has approved three transactions under the EU Merger Regulation, covering deals in energy, artificial intelligence and video games.
Eni S.p.A of Italy and Ares Management Corporation of the US have been cleared to acquire joint control of Eni Plenitude S.p.A. Società Benefit, the Commission informed on Thursday.
The deal was reviewed under the Commission’s simplified merger procedure and was cleared because Ares is not active in the same or vertically related markets as the joint venture.
Saudi Aramco Development Company and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund — known as PIF — have also been cleared to acquire joint control of Al-Mustaqbal Lil-Thaka Al-Istinai Company, called HUMAIN.
The transaction relates to the development and management of AI technologies and infrastructure, and was cleared after a simplified review because of a limited impact on the European Economic Area and a limited combined market position.
Video games deal cleared after full review
In a separate decision, the Commission approved PIF’s acquisition of sole control of Electronic Arts Inc., the US video game company known for titles produced for mobile devices, PCs and consoles.
The Commission said the transaction also relates to the organisation and commercialisation of video game competitions, often referred to as electronic sports events.
The Electronic Arts deal was examined under the Commission’s normal merger review procedure and was cleared because of its limited impact on competition in the markets where the companies are active,.
The three cases are listed in the Commission’s public register under case numbers M.12461 (Eni Plenitude), M.12417 (HUMAIN) and M.12213 (Electronic Arts).
