The Market Court has extended the processing time limit for the merger between Loomis AB and Automatia Pankkiautomaatit Oy, currently under investigation by the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA), until 14.10.2020. The FCCA applied to the Market Court for additional time to conclude the negotiations on conditions.
On 14 May 2020, the FCCA launched a further investigation into a merger in which Loomis, a provider of valuables transport and money processing services, would acquire Automatia, the company maintaining Otto ATMs, from OP, Danske Bank, and Nordea. On the basis of a preliminary assessment conducted by the FCCA, the merger might have adverse effects on the already concentrated market for cash management services.
In August, at the request of the FCCA, the Market Court extended the deadline for processing the merger until 23 September 2020. The FCCA applied for an extension for the second time on 21 September 2020. Further discussions are ongoing with the parties on the conditions under which the merger may be accepted. According to the assessment of the FCCA, a shorter deadline would not be sufficient to conclude the negotiations on conditions.
The party that had announced the merger did not oppose to the extension of the time limit, and the Market Court approved the FCCA’s application on 22.9.2020.
Read more:
- The time limit for processing the merger of Loomis and Automatia has been extended until 23 September 2020, FCCA press release 14.8.020
- FCCA opens in-depth investigation into the proposed merger of Loomis and Automatia, FCCA press release 14.5.2020
Inquiries:
Senior Specialist Pontus Ranta, tel. +358 (0)29 505 3747
Head of Research Mikko Heinonen, tel. +358 (0)29 505 3162
firstname.lastname@kkv.fi
According to the Competition Act, a merger must be reported to the FCCA if the combined turnover of the parties to the concentration exceeds 350 million euros and the turnover of at least two of the parties resulting from Finland exceeds 20 million euros for both. The FCCA approves the merger provided that it will not result in any of the negative impacts mentioned in the Competition Act. The FCCA will intervene in the merger if its investigation indicates that the merger would significantly impede effective competition on the Finnish market or a substantial part thereof, in particular as a result of the creation or strengthening of a dominant position. If required, the processing of the merger notification is carried out in two phases. The first stage lasts a maximum of 23 workdays. If it is clear that the merger will not have any negative effects on competition or if the negative effects can be prevented through the conditions proposed by the parties involved, the merger is approved after this initial processing phase. If this is not the case, the FCCA makes the decision to submit the matter for further investigation in which the merger and its competition effects are comprehensively examined. The further investigation process may take up to 69 working days. The Market Court may extend the deadline for the second phase by a maximum of 46 working days.
Read more about merger control.