• Tomasz Chróstny, the President of the UOKiK, has approved the takeover of control over PHZ Baltona by Polish Airports State Enterprise.
• The transaction shall not result in a restriction of competition.

Polish Airports State Enterprise (PPL) manages or co-controls 7 airports in Poland. In addition, its subsidiaries provide, inter alia, ground handling services and security checks for passengers and luggage. Baltona mainly deals with the rental and operation of shops and restaurants at airports.

There are vertical links between entrepreneurs. PPL leases commercial space at airports to Baltona. The proceedings have demonstrated that this does not constitute a threat to competition. The markets on which entrepreneurs operate - i.e. the provision and lease of commercial space - have at least a European dimension. This is due, inter alia, to the fact that operators of stores and restaurant facilities at airports compete with each other on a global scale, striving to lease commercial space in different countries. Similarly, the airports, when signing agreements with store tenants, are not limited to entrepreneurs from one country. This means that after the transaction, PPL will continue to compete for tenants with other airports in Europe or the world. Moreover, Baltona's market shares are not big enough to result in a concentration that would limit the competition between store and restaurant tenants at airports.

Under the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection, a concentration scheme is subject to notification to the antitrust authority if it involves undertakings whose aggregate turnover generated in the preceding year exceeded EUR 1 billion worldwide or EUR 50 million in Poland. 

The UOKiK website publishes information on all concentration-related anti-trust proceedings conducted by the Authority. More information about the principles governing concentration of undertakings can be found in a dedicated paper.

Additional information for the media:

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