The Competition Authority approves the acquisition by Samkaup hf. of the assets of 12 stores of Basko verslanir ehf. 

The Competition Authority has approved the acquisition by Samkaup hf. of the assets of 12 Basko verslanir ehf. stores located in the capital region.

The acquisition was originally notified to the Competition Authority on 25 June 2018, but that notification also covered two Basko stores, one in Reykjanesbær and the other in Akureyri. The investigation of the case primarily concerned the merger's local competitive effects in those areas.

By letter dated 12 November 2018, Samkaup notified that on that day, together with Basko, it had signed an addendum to the purchase agreement of 25 June 2018. By the addendum, the contracting parties had agreed that two stores would be excluded from the purchase and would therefore not form part of the assets sold. These were, on the one hand, the Iceland store at Hafnargata 51-55 in Reykjanesbær, and on the other, the Iceland store in Kaupang at Mýrarveg in Akureyri.

Following the aforementioned addendum to the merger parties' purchase agreement, the Competition Authority is now able to take a position on Samkaup's acquisition of 12 Basko stores in the capital region. The Competition Authority has no objections to the acquisition. However, no position has yet been taken on Samkaup's acquisition of Basko's stores in Reykjanes and Akureyri.