On 28th February 2018, the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA) approved an acquisition whereby Olvi Oyj will gain control over Servaali Oy. The FCCA has concluded that the acquisition will not significantly impede effective competition in the Finnish market.
Olvi is a brewery operating in Finland with a product range including mild alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, water, energy and sports drinks and juices. Olvi is also a small-scale importer of alcohol products. Servaali is a subsidiary of Moment Group Oy. Its business operations comprise the import, sales and marketing of alcohol products. The parties to the acquisition have overlapping business operations mainly in different distribution segments and the import of beer and cider.
The FCCA has concluded that the acquisition will not significantly impede effective competition in the Finnish market. The market shares of the parties to the acquisition are mostly small in the market segments in which they have overlapping business operations. The market dominance of the parties to the acquisition is further limited by the strong position of daily consumer goods operators and Alko in relation to suppliers of goods. Furthermore, the regulatory reviews conducted by the FCCA did not reveal any harmful effects related to the acquisition.
The FCCA’s decision includes business secrets of the parties involved. The decision cannot be published until the business secrets have been removed, i.e. in around two weeks’ time.
Further information:
- Research Officer Pontus Ranta, tel. +358 (0)29 505 3747, email 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.
- Read more about merger control