23 October 2018
On 23 October 2018, the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA) approved the acquisition of Raisioagro Oy's feed production business and its retail operations for the related and other production inputs used in the agricultural sector by Lantmännen Agro Oy. The transaction could be approved, as the market identified by the FCCA as problematic in the summer of 2018 was now excluded from the acquisition.
Lantmännen Agro Oy is an agricultural retailer operating in Finland and owned by Lantmännen Ekonomisk Föreningen. Lantmännen Agro Oy offers its customers four extensive solutions based on goods and services: cultivation programmes, livestock farm programmes, the Machinery Business model, and the grain trade. The company has a total of 41 chain entrepreneurs operating from 76 outlets.
Raisioagro Oy is part of Raisio Group, which operates in the food and feed business. Raisioagro Oy is largely focused on the production of cattle and fish feeds, but also produces and sells reindeer, horse, sheep and game feed on a small scale. Raisiagro Oy also operates as a seller of e.g. fertilisers, plant protectants, and fuel and lubricants.
The acquisition was first notified to the FCCA on 21 June 2018. The FCCA initiated further proceedings concerning the acquisition on 23 July 2018. The FCCA preliminarily concluded that the transaction, if implemented as notified, would have had adverse effects on competition on the market for silage packing products. Lantmännen Agro withdrew its original notification during the second phase investigation, excluded the business identified as problematic from the acquisition, and submitted a new notification to the FCCA on 8 October 2018.
The FCCA has concluded that the re notified acquisition will not significantly impede effective competition on the Finnish market. Due to the difference between the operations of Lantmännen Agro and Raisioagro, the combined market share of the parties on the retail market for cattle feed will remain moderate and the concentration will face competition from other companies in the market post merger. Furthermore, according to the FCCA’s investigation, the acquisition will not cause any competition concerns on the retail market for other production inputs used in the agricultural sector or on the market for the purchase of feed grain and the production of cattle feed.
The FCCA’s decision includes business secrets of the parties involved. The decision will be published once the business secrets have been removed.
More information:
Research Officer Jenna Huttu, tel. +358 (0)29 505 3576
Assistant Director Sanna Syrjälä, tel. +358 (0)29 505 3385
firstname.lastname@kkv.fi
According to the Competition Act, the FCCA must be notified of a 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 20 million euros for both. 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.
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