ADVENT/AFK/TA/VOLUE Merger Notification - Simplified Procedure
Summary
The European Commission published prior notification of concentration Case M.12386 involving ADVENT, AFK, TA, and VOLUE in the Official Journal C series. The notification was published on April 1, 2026 (ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2026/2056/oj) under publication number PUB/2026/380. The case has been designated as a candidate for the simplified merger review procedure, indicating the Commission views it as unlikely to raise competition concerns.
What changed
The European Commission published formal notice of a prior notification for concentration Case M.12386 (ADVENT/AFK/TA/VOLUE) pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings. The parties—ADVENT, AFK, TA, and VOLUE—have submitted notification to the Commission for review. The case is designated as a candidate for the simplified procedure, which applies to concentrations that do not raise doubts as to their compatibility with the common market.
Parties to this concentration or third parties with a legitimate interest may submit observations to the Commission. Under the simplified procedure, the Commission may adopt a simplified decision without a full Phase II investigation if the concentration meets the criteria set out in the Merger Regulation. No specific compliance deadlines apply to the notifying parties beyond standard procedural requirements.
What to do next
- Review the merger notification details to assess potential competitive implications in relevant markets
- Third parties with legitimate interests may submit observations to the Commission within the statutory period
- Monitor for Commission decision under the simplified procedure
Source document (simplified)
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Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.12386 – ADVENT / AFK / TA / VOLUE) – Candidate case for simplified procedure
Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.12386 – ADVENT / AFK / TA / VOLUE) – Candidate case for simplified procedure
Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.12386 – ADVENT / AFK / TA / VOLUE) – Candidate case for simplified procedure
PUB/2026/380
OJ C, C/2026/2056, 1.4.2026, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2026/2056/oj (BG, ES, CS, DA, DE, ET, EL, EN, FR, GA, HR, IT, LV, LT, HU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SL, FI, SV)
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2026/2056/oj
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| | Official Journal
of the European Union | EN
C series |
| | C/2026/2056 | 1.4.2026 |
Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.12386 – ADVENT / AFK / TA / VOLUE)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(C/2026/2056)
1.
On 23 March 2026, the Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1). This notification concerns the following undertakings:
| — | Advent International, L.P. and/or its affiliates (‘Advent’, USA), |
| — | Arendals Fossekompani ASA (‘AFK’, Norway), |
| — | TA Associates Management, L.P. (‘TA’, USA), |
| — | Volue AS (‘Volue’, Norway), currently jointly controlled by Advent and AFK. |
Advent, AFK and TA will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of Volue.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.
2.
The business activities of the undertakings concerned are the following:
| — | Advent is a private equity investor based in Boston, USA. Advent focuses on the acquisition of equity stakes and the management of investment funds in various sectors, including healthcare, industrial, technology, retail, consumer and leisure, and business and financial services, |
| — | AFK is a Norwegian industrial investment company combining industrial, technology and capital markets expertise to identify value creation opportunities. AFK invests in forward-looking industries such as 3D printing, satellite services, energy storage, software, and digitalisation. AFK is also a producer of renewable hydropower, |
| — | TA is the registered investment adviser to the TA funds. TA generally invests in five core sectors: technology, financial services, healthcare, consumer, and business services industries in North America, Europe and Asia, |
| — | Volue is a software publisher active in the energy sector. Volue supplies software used exclusively by energy producers to optimise the energy-specific aspects of their operations. |
3.
On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved. Pursuant to the Commission Notice on a simplified treatment for certain concentrations under Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings (2), it should be noted that this case is a candidate for treatment under the procedure set out in the Notice.
4.
The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed concentration to the Commission. Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. The following reference should always be specified:
M.12386 – ADVENT / AFK / TA / VOLUE
Observations can be sent to the Commission by email or by post. Please use the contact details below:
Email: COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu
Postal address:
| European Commission |
| Directorate-General for Competition |
| Merger Registry |
| 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel |
| BELGIQUE/BELGIË |
(1) OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the ‘Merger Regulation’).
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2026/2056/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)
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