Viewing consolidation on the large shopping centres market as a threat to competition, UOKiK issues an objection regarding a Unibail-Rodamco Investments takeover bid for two companies, ZT General Partner and Warsaw III.

The participants in the intended acquisition rent out retail space in shopping centres in Warsaw. Holland-based Unibail-Rodamco Investments belongs to a capital group that owns two malls located outside of the city centre, while its target owns one located in the heart of Warsaw.

UOKiK conducted market study to precisely define the market the companies operate on. It questioned more than 200 enterprises, including ones that compete with Unibail-Rodamco, ZT General Partner and Warsaw III in renting out space to retailers and retailers that rent space to sell their wares and services. Most of the companies consulted indicated that there is a difference between the retail space rental market in large shopping centres and the unit rental market in small shopping centres and street-side areas. Small shopping centers are located mainly around larger stores, where customers buy everyday products, while the surrounding shops and services play a supplemental role. The smaller centres feature a more limited range of vendors, and a lack of premium brands and features typical of large shopping centers with their diverse gastronomic offer, entertainment centers and cinemas. Moreover, Warsaw’s high streets are dominated by restaurants and banks, and lack sufficient commercial space beyond them to offer a diverse range of products and services in one place. The lack of parking lots constitutes another barrier.

Its analysis of the materials it collected allowed UOKiK to determine that, in terms of the retail space rental market, Warsaw’s small shopping centres and high streets are not a substitute for the large shopping centres, and they therefore comprise a different market. In UOKiK’s estimation, the planned acquisition could significantly limit competition on the retail space rental market in large shopping centres in the Warsaw agglomeration. The combined share of the participants exceeds 40 percent of the market, which the Competition and Consumer Protection Act assumes to be a dominant position.

In cases in which there is a reasonable probability that competition will be limited on a market as a result of a concentration, UOKiK issues an objection regarding the transaction — which it must justify — to one or all of the enterprises involved.

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