Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has extended two proceedings concerning Eurocash’s bids to acquire the companies EKO Holding, FHC-2 and Madas.

At the end of March 2016 UOKiK received an acquisition application from Eurocash to take over Eko Holding. A month later, Eurocash requested consent to acquire FHC-2 and Madas. All three of the companies to be acquired are retailers of daily use consumer products. Eurocash engages in the wholesale and retail sale of daily use consumer and household goods, tobacco products and media, and also organises a chain of franchises and partnerships under a variety of names in Poland.

In the course of proceedings, the Authority concluded that the two cases are complex enough to warrant additional market study and further examination of the relationships between Eurocash and the shops operating within the franchise and partnership chains. To that end, the two proceedings were extended to the second, four-month phase.

The two-stage procedure

In force since January 2015, Poland’s amended Competition and Consumer Protection Act lays out a two-stage proceedings model for concentration cases. While UOKiK issues a decision in the majority of cases in the first, one-month stage, it may extend a proceeding by four months to issue a decision in cases that are particularly complicated, that require additional market study to be conducted, or that concern cases covering a concentration that poses a justifiable likelihood of competition being significantly limited.

The resolution to extend a proceeding does not have any bearing on UOKiK’s ultimate decision in a case.

Additional information for the media

Press Office, UOKiK
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warsaw
Phone.: +48 22 827 28 92, +48 22 55 60 314, +48 22 55 60 430
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl

Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL