On 22 October 2018, the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA) approved Länsiauto Oy’s acquisition of Opel Finland Oy. The FCCA has concluded that the acquisition will not significantly impede effective competition on the Finnish market.
The Länsiauto Group engages mainly in the retail of cars, vans, car accessories and spare parts, and in the repair and servicing of cars. As a retailer, the Länsiauto Group represents Opel brand cars, for example.
Opel Finland engages mainly in the import and wholesale of Opel brand cars and commercial vehicles, and Opel and Chevrolet brand accessories, spare parts and supplies.
The acquisition combines two players in the automotive industry that operate at different stages of production. In view of the vertical nature of the acquisition, the market position of the parties and the significant number of competitors, the FCCA has concluded that the acquisition will not significantly impede effective competition on the Finnish market.
The FCCA’s decision includes business secrets of the parties involved. The decision will be published once the business secrets have been removed.
Further information:
- Research Officer Taru-Tuulia Tammi, tel. +358 (0)29 505 3024
firstname.lastname@kkv.fi
According to the Competition Act, the FCCA must be notified of the transaction if the combined turnover of the parties to the corporate transaction exceeds 350 million euros and the turnover from Finland of at least two of the parties exceeds a combined total of 20 million euros. The FCCA will approve a corporate transaction if it has none of the harmful impacts referred to in the Competition Act. The FCCA will intervene in corporate transactions if its investigations suggest that the acquisition substantially impedes effective competition on Finnish markets or a substantial part of the markets, particularly through the creation or reinforcement of a dominant market position.