The acquisition by Samhentra Kassagerðar hf. of part of the business and assets of Kassagerðar Reykjavíkur ehf.

The Competition Authority has today decided not to take action regarding the merger of Samhentra Kassagerð hf. and Kassagerð Reykjavíkur ehf.

Following a preliminary assessment by the Competition Authority of the merger, the merging parties decided to amend the underlying purchase agreement by excluding KR's business units for corrugated cardboard and waxed trays from the acquisition, and thus from the merger. The Competition Authority had argued that the merger would distort competition in these specific areas.

During the proceedings, the Competition Authority granted the merging parties an exemption to carry out the merger. This was done in light of the difficult position of the company being acquired and external market conditions, including in relation to COVID-19. The exemption was subject to specific conditions designed to ensure that competition in the relevant markets would not be impaired and that the merger could be easily unwound if it were declared unlawful. Based on these conditions, the part of KR's operations that the merger ultimately did not cover was returned to KR.

Í decision A more detailed discussion of the case handling and an assessment of the merger's competitive effects, taking into account the changes to the merger described above, can be found in the report of the supervisory authority.