Þann 13. apríl 2021 heimilaði Samkeppniseftirlitið samruna Norðlenska matborðsins ehf., Kjarnafæðis hf. og SAH afurða ehf. á grundvelli skilyrða í sátt sem samrunaaðilar gerðu við Samkeppniseftirlitið. Sama dag birti Samkeppniseftirlitið ákvörðun No. 12/2021 þar sem gerð er nánari grein fyrir rannsókn málsins og þeim skilyrðum sem voru sett samrunanum. Samhliða ákvörðuninni birti eftirlitið fjögur fylgiskjöl (fylgiskjöl l, Second, III and IV) þar sem gerð var ítarleg grein fyrir þremur könnunum sem eftirlitið lét framkvæma við rannsókn málsins á meðal neytenda og bænda.
The Competition Authority has today published fylgiskjal I (177 blaðsíður) með ákvörðuninni þar sem gerð er ítarlegri grein fyrir rannsókn málsins, skilgreiningu markaða og mat á áhrifum samrunans. Þar á meðal er gerð ítarleg grein fyrir sjónarmiðum samrunaaðila og annarra hagsmunaaðila, ásamt því sem ályktunum Samkeppniseftirlitsins um samkeppnisleg áhrif samrunans eru gerð nánari skil.
Nánar um skilyrði sem sett voru samrunanum
Líkt og fram kom í News Samkeppniseftirlitsins skuldbinda samrunaaðilar sig til að grípa til eftirfarandi aðgerða:
Measures to strengthen and secure the negotiating position of farmers.
The merged company undertakes not to prevent farmers from transferring their business from the merged company to its competitors. Furthermore, farmers' right to negotiate for specific services with the merged company, such as slaughtering, is guaranteed, while other services, such as processing, may be provided by third parties.
Measures concerning the pricing of individual service components.
The merged company undertakes to account separately for slaughtering and processing, and to be subject to restrictions and rules on the pricing of slaughtering and other specifically defined services for a specified period. Thus, farmers will benefit from the efficiencies the combined company intends to achieve and will not have to endure price increases that can inevitably result from anti-competitive mergers. The conditions are also designed to support farmers' negotiating power and thereby strengthen the leverage they can exert over meat processing plants.
Measures to break the ownership ties with smaller processing plants through the sale of a stake to farmers.
The merged company undertakes to sell its shares in Fjallalambi on the one hand and Sláturfélagi Vopnfirðinga on the other. The shares are to be sold to farmers, or to companies majority-owned by farmers. The sale is subject to a specific deadline, which is confidential.
Measures to prevent the reduction of farmers' competitors and negotiating partners.
Kjarnafæði has had business dealings with the meat processing plants B. Jensen and Sláturfélag Vopnfirðinga. The merged company undertakes to maintain ongoing business dealings for a specified period with B. Jensen and Sláturfélag Vopnfirðinga. These transactions are important for the continued operation of these companies, which might otherwise disappear from the market. The aforementioned commitment aims to ensure that the companies have the room to manoeuvre to respond to changing market conditions and continue to operate as independent competitors.
Measures to promote the competitive independence of the combined company.
The merged company undertakes to adopt a competition policy, take measures to ensure compliance with the settlement in its day-to-day operations, ensure independence from competitors at board level and among key personnel, and maintain a record of all contacts with competitors. Are these measures sufficient to ensure that the merged entity complies with the prohibition on anti-competitive practices under competition law and to prevent the harm that can result from increased concentration in the sector?.
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