The Donbass Group is allowed to take over the Gdańsk Shipyard. According to the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection the transaction is not going to affect competition on the market

The transaction, notified to UOKiK in October 2007, will consist in ISD Polska, a company belonging to the Donbass Group, taking control over the Gdańsk Shipyard.

The Ukrainian company operates on the smelting products markets, as well as on the coke and coal derivatives markets. The envisaged transaction is supposed to result in ISD Polska acquiring over 80% of the Gdańsk Shipyard shares.

Having conducted the necessary proceedings, the President of the Office concluded that the takeover is not going to restrict competition, in particular, it is not going to result in the creation or strengthening of a dominant market position.

According to the Act on competition and consumer protection of 16 February 2007 only transactions involving enterprises whose aggregate turnover exceeded EUR 1 bln world-wide or EUR 50 mln in Poland in the preceding year must be notified. This way, only the largest concentrations that may have actual impact on competition are subject to UOKiK’s control.

It is also worth reminding that carrying out a concentration without prior clearance, even if unintentionally, may result in UOKiK imposing a fine of up to 10% of the concerned company’s revenue. In some cases, the clearance may be made conditional on dividing the target company, selling part of its assets, or shares.

Additional information:
Małgorzata Cieloch, Spokesperson for UOKiK
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warsaw, Poland
Tel. (+48 22) 827 28 92, 55 60 106, 55 60 314
faks (+48 22) 826 11 86
E-mail [SCODE]bWNpZWxvY2hAdW9raWsuZ292LnBs[ECODE]