The President of UOKiK has provided her consent to the purchase of Centrum Handlowe Wola Park (Wola Park Shopping Centre) in Warsaw by Inter IKEA Centre Polska. This is one of the six decisions regarding the merger control issued recently. Others relate to, inter alia, pharmaceutical market, retail and wholesale trade, food processing and mobile networks

Under binding regulations, a transaction must be notified to the antimonopoly authority if it involves undertakings whose total turnover in the preceding year exceeded EUR 1 billion globally or EUR 50 million in Poland.

One of the decisions issued recently by the President of UOKiK concerns the acquisition of the Wola Park company by Inter IKEA Centre Poland. The taking over entity deals with leasing and management of real estate, such as: Park Handlowy Bielany (Wrocław), or Janki Park Handlowy. Wola Park is the owner of a shopping center under the same name. It offers rental of retail and service space, as well as office space. As a result of concentration, Inter IKEA Center Polska will acquire 100 % of shares in the Wola Park’s initial capital.

Another decision that has been issued recently concerns the acquisition of Partner Pharma by BRL Center-Polska. BRL Center-Polska runs a network of pharmacies under the name Dr. Max, which are located in 14 voivodeships, mostly in: wielkopolskie, kujawsko-pomorskie, śląskie and dolnośląskie. Partner Pharma runs a network of pharmacies in five voivodeships, primarily in śląskie, dolnośląskie and mazowieckie.

Consent has also been granted to Top Farms Food I company that can now purchase Zakłady Przetwórstwa Owocowo-Warzywnego Ziębice (Fruit and Vegetable Processing Plant Ziębice). The acquiring entity has been established for the purpose of this transaction. It belongs to Top Farms from Poznań, which controls a total of 20 companies operating in, inter alia, cultivation of crops, rape, and sugar beet, cattle breeding and milk production. The Fruit and Vegetable Processing Plant Ziębice is a manufacturer of frozen and canned vegetables. With the concentration, Top Farms Food I will acquire 100 % of shares in ZPOW Ziębice from the previous owner - Pamapol.

Green light has also been granted to KDWT.  It belongs to the Eurocash capital group and operates in the wholesale distribution of tobacco products and products included in the group of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). As a result of concentration, KDWT will acquire a part of warehouses belonging to Przedsiębiorstwo Handlowo-Usługowe Noban (Trading and Service Company Noban) that deals with, inter alia, sale of tobacco products.

Another decision concerns companies Czerwona Torebka and Małpka. Czerwona Torebka is a dominant company in the capital group consisting of 15 limited joint-stock partnerships. The main group’s operations are to establish and develop a network of trading and service malls under the brand name of Czerwona Torebka. Małpka in turn is the owner of a nationwide network of stores Małpka Express. As a result of concentration, Czerwona Torebka will take control over Małpka.

The last decision concerns providing consent to the acquisition of Grameenphone by Accenture Holdings. The former of the merging entities belongs to the Accenture capital group. Its focuses on management consulting, providing technology services and outsourcing. Grameenphone in turn, is a mobile network operator, operating in Bangladesh.

Having conducted the antimonopoly proceedings, the President of UOKiK concluded that the above concentrations will not lead to a significant restriction of competition.

Decisions granting consent to implement a concentration expire if the merger is not completed within two years from the date of issue thereof. Information on all concentration-related antitrust proceedings conducted by the Office is available on the Office’s website.

Additional information for 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 60 314, 55 60 430
Fax: +48 22 826 11 86
E-mail: [SCODE]bWFsZ29yemF0YS5jaWVsb2NoQHVva2lrLmdvdi5wbA==[ECODE]