Competition Council has received the merger report of JSC “Cēsu alus” regarding the planned acquisition of a sole decisive influence over SIA “Piebalgas alus”.
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The core business of JSC “Cēsu alus” and SIA “Piebalgas alus” overlaps in the production, wholesale and retail trade of beer and non-alcoholic beverages (including kvass), as well as in the wholesale trade of cider.
The Competition Council must, within one month from the date of receipt of the report, decide whether to authorize, prohibit or authorize the merger with binding conditions or to initiate additional investigations. If the case requires further investigation, the time limit for taking a decision may be extended to four months from the date of receipt of the report.
Companies that could provide a substantial and substantiated opinion on the impact of the proposed merger on the market and competition in it are invited to contact the Competition Council.
In order to protect the commercial information of the merging parties about their business plans, only the names of the companies involved in the merger are published on the website of the Competition Council. The merging parties themselves may choose to provide further information on the nature of the merger.
The permission of the Competition Council for mergers is required if the total turnover of the merging parties in the previous financial year in the territory of Latvia has been not less than 30,000,000 euros and the turnover of at least 2 merging parties in the previous financial year in the territory of Latvia has been not less than 1,500,000 euros.
State control of large mergers is necessary to prevent a significant reduction in competition as a result of a merger. This maintains the driving force of competition, which prevents unjustified price increases, increases choice and quality, as well as economic growth in general.
Following the market analysis, the Competition Council authorizes transactions that do not significantly reduce competition. A merger may also be authorized if the potential harm to competition can be eliminated by making the rules binding on the merging parties governing their operation on the market. Mergers which create or strengthen a dominant position or which may significantly reduce competition and the binding terms proposed by the merging parties do not eliminate the adverse effects on competition are prohibited.
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