The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA) has initiated further proceedings with regard to an acquisition whereby Parma Oy will acquire AS TMB.
Parma Oy is a producer of precast concrete in Finland. Parma also provides its customers with design, assembly and transportation for precast concrete. Parma is part of the Consolis Group, engaged in the design, manufacture and production of precast concrete in 30 countries throughout Europe, Southeast Asia and North Africa.
AS TMB is the parent company of TMB Group, involved in the manufacture, design and installation of concrete elements. TMB Group operates in Scandinavia and the Group’s local subsidiary in Finland is Betonimestarit Oy. Betonimestarit Oy produces concrete framework elements, slabs and wall elements, in addition to which the company’s product range includes infraproducts.
On the basis of the FCCA’s preliminary assessment, the acquisition raises concerns that the transaction could restrict competition regionally, particularly with regard to certain precast concrete products. The transaction may increase the merging parties market power, thereby potentially giving them the ability to profitably increase prices at national level.
The FCCA considers it necessary to continue clarifying the competitive effects of the transaction. In its further investigation, the FCCA will examine whether the planned acquisition significantly impedes effective competition in the Finnish market, or a substantial part of it. The FCCA may approve the acquisition as such, attach conditions to the approval or request that the Finnish Market Court prohibit the acquisition. According to the Competition Act, the further proceedings may not take longer than three months.
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:
- Senior Research Officer Anu Ala-Outinen, tel. +358 (0)29 505 3010, 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. Where necessary, notifications of acquisitions are considered in two stages. The so-called first stage takes a month at most. If the acquisition is clearly not harmful to competition, or if the harmful effects can be prevented by means proposed by the parties to the acquisition, the acquisition is approved during the first stage. If not, the FCCA decides to conduct a further investigation of the matter, during which the acquisition and its competition effects are investigated in further detail.