The purchase by Pressunnar ehf. of twelve newspapers published by Fótspor ehf.

The Competition Authority has been reviewing a merger concerning the acquisition by Pressan ehf. of twelve newspapers published by Fótspor ehf. Both parties to the merger operate in the media market. Fótspor has operated solely in the market for newspaper publishing, whereas Pressan's activities also extend to the online media market. Both parties operate in the market for the sale of advertising in the media.

This concerns the Press's purchase of the publication rights to twelve titles which the publishing house Fótspor has handled in recent years. The titles in question are: Reykjavík vikublað, Akureyri vikublað, Reykjanes, Selfoss, Austurland, Vesturland, Vestfirðir, Hafnarfjörður, Kópavogur, Aldan, Birta and Sleggjan. This is a horizontal merger, where the merging parties both operate in the same markets. The merger is subject to both the merger provisions of the Competition Act no. 44/2005 and the merger rules of the Media Act no. 38/2011.

Following an investigation and having regard to the evidence, the Competition Authority is of the opinion that the merger will not prevent effective competition in the relevant markets and will not lead to the creation or strengthening of a dominant position. Furthermore, the merger will not otherwise significantly distort competition in the market. Therefore, there are no grounds to take action regarding the merger under Article 17(c) of the Competition Act. The Competition Authority, however, fully endorses the warning issued by the Media Commission and directs the merger parties to take it into account.