Aktualita
MERGERS: AMO SR approved the merger of the undertakings UNIPETROL, a.s., and Fontee, s.r.o.
Content
On 5 September 2019 the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic, the Division of Concentrations, (hereafter "the Office") approved a merger grounded in the acquisition of indirect exclusive control of the undertaking UNIPETROL, a.s., Prague, the Czech Republic (hereafter "UNIPETROL") over a part of the undertaking Fontee, s.r.o., Orechová Potôň (hereafter "Fontee"), which consists of assets serving for the operation of 7 service stations (hereafter "SS").
UNIPETROL Group is a part of the multinational PKN ORLEN Group, of which the core subject of business is oil extraction and processing, respectively petrochemical production and the sale of these products. Within the Slovak Republic in the area of retail sale of automotive fuels (petrol, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas - LPG; hereafter "fuels") and supplementary goods, the group operates only one SS in the city of Malacky.
The company Fontee owns and operates 7 SS in the locations of Holice, Senec, Šurany, Tesárske Mlyňany, Strečno, Šelpice and Lužianky. The acquired part of the undertaking operates in the area of retail sale of fuels, oils and other goods at SS.
Based on the number of SS that will be controlled by UNIPETROL Group after the merger, and their deployment within the SR, as well as the existence of significant competitors in this area, the merger in question does not raise competition concerns in terms of its horizontal assessment at nationwide level nor in terms of the local activity of the participants to the proceedings.
There is also a vertical relationship between UNIPETROL Group (wholesale of fuels) and the undertaking Fontee (retail of fuels). With regard mainly to the scope of activities and the market presence of UNIPETROL Group in the wholesale supplies in the SR and particularly of the undertaking Fontee in the retail supplies of these commodities, this vertical link does not raise competition concerns neither in terms of the restriction of access to inputs nor in terms of the restriction of access to customers.
After evaluating documentation and information obtained, the Office came to the conclusion that the assessed merger is in accordance with the Article 12 Paragraph 1 of the Act on Protection of Competition, since it does not significantly impede effective competition in the relevant market, particularly as the result of the creation or strengthening of a dominant position.
The decision came into force on 13 September 2019.
UNIPETROL Group is a part of the multinational PKN ORLEN Group, of which the core subject of business is oil extraction and processing, respectively petrochemical production and the sale of these products. Within the Slovak Republic in the area of retail sale of automotive fuels (petrol, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas - LPG; hereafter "fuels") and supplementary goods, the group operates only one SS in the city of Malacky.
The company Fontee owns and operates 7 SS in the locations of Holice, Senec, Šurany, Tesárske Mlyňany, Strečno, Šelpice and Lužianky. The acquired part of the undertaking operates in the area of retail sale of fuels, oils and other goods at SS.
Based on the number of SS that will be controlled by UNIPETROL Group after the merger, and their deployment within the SR, as well as the existence of significant competitors in this area, the merger in question does not raise competition concerns in terms of its horizontal assessment at nationwide level nor in terms of the local activity of the participants to the proceedings.
There is also a vertical relationship between UNIPETROL Group (wholesale of fuels) and the undertaking Fontee (retail of fuels). With regard mainly to the scope of activities and the market presence of UNIPETROL Group in the wholesale supplies in the SR and particularly of the undertaking Fontee in the retail supplies of these commodities, this vertical link does not raise competition concerns neither in terms of the restriction of access to inputs nor in terms of the restriction of access to customers.
After evaluating documentation and information obtained, the Office came to the conclusion that the assessed merger is in accordance with the Article 12 Paragraph 1 of the Act on Protection of Competition, since it does not significantly impede effective competition in the relevant market, particularly as the result of the creation or strengthening of a dominant position.
The decision came into force on 13 September 2019.