By a ruling issued on February 17, 2020, the Market Court prohibited the acquisition by Kesko of Heinon Tukku. On March 18, 2020, Kesko announced that it will not appeal to the Market Court decision, indicating that the prohibition is now final.
In November 2019, the FCCA submitted a proposal to the Market Court on the prohibition of the acquisition by Kesko of Heinon Tukku. According to the FCCA , this merger, if completed, would significantly have impeded competition in the broadline distribution of groceries to Finnish foodservice customers, such as hotels and restaurants. According to the FCCA’s investigation, the merger would have led to Kesko having a dominant position in the market, where the parties have a combined market share of up to 60-70%.
Merger control was established in Finland in 1998 and this was only the fourth time in its history that a merger was proposed to be prohibited. The three previous mergers were eventually approved subject to conditions.
More information:
Kesko’s acquisition of Heinon Tukku blocked by the Finnish Market Court (FCCA’s press release 17.2.2020)