Merger of Símen hf. and Já hf.

The Competition Authority has taken a position on the acquisition by Sýn hf. („Sýn“) of all shares in Eignarhaldsfélagið Njála ehf. („Njála“), whose subsidiary is Já hf. („Já“). The merger was duly notified on 28 April 2023, and the statutory deadlines began to run. The investigation concluded with a settlement with the merging parties on 4 October 2023. 

During the investigation, detailed submissions were obtained from regulators and stakeholders, both regarding the merger's general impact on competition and the merger parties' proposals for conditions to mitigate or eliminate any harmful effects.

The merging parties are primarily telecommunications companies, media providers and information service companies. Sýn is therefore a strong telecommunications company and media provider with a significant market share in the relevant markets. Já is an information services company whose operations are largely based on a telephone number database which, in years gone by, was the only database of its kind.

The markets on which the merger will have a particular impact are the market for the operation and wholesale access to the telephone number database in Iceland, and the retail markets for services based on access to this database. However, in light of the outcome of this case, the Competition Authority did not consider it necessary to take a position on the final definitions of the relevant markets.

A study by the Competition Authority indicated that Já's position in the market for access to a telephone number database and in retail markets based on the database, e.g. telephone information services and internet information services, was strong and could be strengthened by a merger with Sýn. The investigation also indicated that the situation where Sýn would become the owner of Já, a key business and service provider for both Já and its main competitor in the information services market, could have harmful competitive effects. Furthermore, the investigation indicated that conditions for potential conflicts of interest were present, including where sensitive business information about the customers of other telecommunications companies could potentially be disclosed to Sýn. In light of all this, and considering the existing market failings, as noted in previous rulings by the Competition Authority and the Communications Authority, there is a risk that competition would be harmed by the merger. 

In order to prevent the harmful effects of the merger, a settlement was reached in the case which aims to mitigate and/or prevent the aforementioned issues indicated by the investigation. Accordingly, Sýn's wholesale division is, among other things, required to maintain impartiality and objectivity towards other information service providers and is prohibited from providing Já with confidential information about competitors or potential competitors. A ban is also imposed on disclosing sensitive business information from Já to Sýn, and a limitation on traceability is introduced. Furthermore, Sýn agreed to provide other information service providers with unilateral, one-off access to basic information, upon fulfilment of certain conditions, to level the playing field for essential inputs in the provision of information services.