The President of UOKiK has issued nearly 100 decisions concerning the control of concentration since the beginning of 2010. The two last ones regard railway and fuel markets. In order to clarify the provisions, a document has been drawn up that explains the procedures for notification of concentrations. Interested parties may submit comments to the project within the next two days.

Since the beginning of 2010, nearly 140 undertakings have notified the intention of concentration to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection and the President of the Office has issued 98 consents to implement the transactions. The last two concern the creation of one joint undertaking by PKP Cargo and Jinan Railway Vehicles Equipment and the takeover of Shell Gas Polska by Zentraleuropa LPG Holding.

PKP Cargo operates on the market of railway freight transport. It owns 11 subsidiaries dealing, i.a.  with freight forwarding, logistics and repairs of rolling stock and tramway trains. Jinan Railway Vehicles Equipment deals, among others, with production of railway wagons and parts thereof. The new entity – CNR CARGO WAGON – is intended to deal with wagon production in Poland.

The participants of the second concentration operate, inter alia, in the wholesale of LPG. The transaction will consist in the purchase of 100% of shares in the initial capital of Shell Gas Polska by Zentraleuropa LPG Holding from the current owner – Shell Gas LPG Holdings.

Along with numerous applications of undertakings, there appear also requests for clarification of regulations. Therefore, the Office has prepared the draft Clarifications on notification of intended concentration to the President of UOKiK. They should raise the awareness of entrepreneurs towards the obligation to notify of an intended concentration as well as facilitate interpretation of the provisions regulating the notification procedure. In the opinion of the Office, publication of the Clarifications will facilitate preparation of applications and thus accelerate the decisions by the President of UOKiK.

Deadline for submission of comments shall lapse on 30 September 2010. The interested parties may send them to the address: koncentracje@uokik.gov.pl. Any additional information about the project can be obtained under the telephone number: (+48 22) 55 60 122 in the Department of Concentration Control.

Under the regulations in force, the transaction is subject to a notification submitted to the antitrust authority if the transaction participants' total turnover in the year preceding the notification exceeded EUR 1 billion worldwide or EUR 50 million in Poland. The President of UOKiK grants consent to implement a concentration, shall it not result in significant restriction of competition on the market, in particular, by the creation or strengthening of a dominant position of an undertaking.

Additional information for the media:
Małgorzata Cieloch, Spokesperson for UOKiK
Department of International Relations and Communication
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa
Tel.:(+48 22) 827 28 92, 55 60 106, 55 60 430
faks (+48 22) 826 11 86
E-mail: malgorzata.cieloch@uokik.gov.pl