MERGERS: AMO SR approved the merger of undertakings Legrand France S.A. and EMOS CZ group, a.s.

On 3 February 2022 the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic, the Division of Concentrations, (hereafter “the Office”) approved a merger grounded in the acquisition of exclusive control of undertaking Legrand France S.A., Limoges, the French Republic (hereafter “Legrand”) over undertaking EMOS CZ group, a.s., Přerov, the Czech Republic (hereafter ”EMOS“) and the group of companies, which are its subsidiary companies: EMOS SK, s.r.o., Bytča; EMOS, spol. s r.o., Přerov, the Czech Republic; EMOS Depo CZ, s.r.o., Přerov, the Czech Republic; EMOS PL SP. Z O.O., Bielsko-Biała, Poland; EMOS HU Kft., Budaörs, Hungary and EMOS SI Mednardna trgovina in proizvodnja, D.O.O., Šempeter v Savinjski dolini, Slovenia.
 

The group Legrand is the global manufacturer of products and the provider of services for electrical installations and digital building systems. It offers the wide range of products and services, namely as follows: low voltage circuit protection and power distribution (e. g. distribution panels and covers, circuit breakers, switches); wiring devices (e. g. switches, power sockets for residential and commercial buildings), connecting accessories, mobile products (e. g. extension cords, multi-socket sockets); home and door entry systems; cable management systems (e. g. floor and workstations, networks, cable trays and ladders, cable storage systems); UPS - uninterruptible power supply sources; lighting (control; management; emergency lighting); structured VDI cabling (e. g. distribution units, covers, racks, cabinets).

The group operates in the territory of the Slovak Republic mainly through company LEGRAND Slovensko, s.r.o., Bratislava. It mainly sells switches and sockets, input systems for family houses, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), extension cables, adapters, plugs, pop-up boxes and devices for smart homes.

In terms of distribution, the group Legrand operates in the territory of the Slovak Republic mainly through the B2B sales of its products/solutions to the distributors of electronic equipment, the distributors of data and IT technologies. The part of group Legrand´s revenues, in the territory of the Slovak Republic, consists of sales aimed at end customers (B2C) through the sales of the so-called DIY retail chains, retailers or the third parties´ e-shops. In Slovakia, the group Legrand does not operate its own e-shop nor its own stone stores.

The group EMOS primarily focuses on the sale and the wholesale of electrical products in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. It has a large number of products in its product range, with light sources, extension cables and batteries being the most important products.

The group EMOS uses the following distribution channels: direct selling through its sales representatives, supplying the chains and networks, including retailers, DIY chains, supermarkets, through specialized wholesalers, online stores and an e-shop operated by company EMOS SK - an online store in the Slovak Republic, that is operated on the basis of B2C, i. e. the goods are sold directly to end customers. The direct sales through sales representatives and the sales through chains/networks are the most important distribution channels of the group EMOS.

Both merging parties are active in the field of selling low voltage electrical equipment (hereafter "LV products"). The activities of merging parties hardly overlap in the horizontal area.

The market for the retail sale of consumer goods and the market for the production and wholesale of LV products are vertically interconnected markets. The Office assessed a vertical relationship between the merging parties, assessing all the possible alternatives of relevant markets, and it concluded that there were no competition concerns, neither in the form of restriction of access to inputs in the supply market for the production and sale of LV products nor in relation to customers in the downstream market for the retail sale of consumer goods.

The Office found out that the merger could not lead to competition concerns neither in terms of potential portfolio effects.

After evaluating documentation and information obtained, the Office concluded that the merger assessed is in accordance with the Article 11 Paragraph 1 of the Act on Protection of Competition, as it will not significantly impede effective competition in the relevant market, in particular as the result of creation or strengthening of dominant position.

The decision came into force on 7 February 2022.