The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA) today decided to initiate further proceedings in an acquisition whereby DAVA Foods Holding A/S, a Danish company, plans to acquire half of the Finnish company Muna Foods Oy. Muna Foods Oy is a company yet to be established, to which the producers’ cooperative Munakunta plans to transfer its whole business in connection with the acquisition.
Munakunta is a cooperative owned by approximately 150 Finnish egg producers and is active in egg purchasing, egg packaging and distribution, and manufacturing and sales of processed egg products as well as equipment related to poultry production. The cooperative has two packaging plants and a processing plant in Finland. Furthermore, it owns a processing plant in Tallinn, Estonia. Munakunta holds approximately 40 per cent of the Finnish egg market (see Munakunta’s press release of 17 June 2014 in Finnish).
DAVA Foods Holding A/S is part of the Danish Agro Group that operates in the agricultural sector. Its egg products division includes the Denmark-based Hedegaard Foods A/S, Sweden-based Svenska Lantägg Ab and, following the ongoing arrangement, half of Muna Foods Oy that operates in Finland and Estonia. The Danish Agro Group also holds a strong position in the Finnish agricultural trade (see the Finnish Competition Authority’s press release of 14 December 2012).
In its further proceedings, the FCCA will investigate whether the planned acquisition significantly impedes effective competition in Finland. Following its further proceedings, the FCCA may approve the acquisition as such, attach conditions to the approval or request the Finnish Market Court to prohibit the acquisition. According to the Competition Act, these further proceedings cannot take longer than three months.
The decision issued today by the FCCA includes numerous business secrets of the parties involved. It cannot therefore be published until the confidential items have been removed. The public version of the decision will be posted on the FCCA’s website as soon as it has been finalised.