• The President of the UOKiK has approved the takeover of control over Platon by Empik.
• The decision has been reached following a period of market testing, with the deadline for the completion of antitrust proceedings having been extended by a period of 4 months.
• It has been determined that the concentration scheme in question shall not result in a restriction of competition.

Empik is a company which engages in the sale of goods such as books, newspapers and magazines, music, films, multimedia, electronic equipment and tickets for cultural events. Platon, on the other hand, is a book wholesaler and distributor. Both undertakings pursue their business on a nationwide scale.

The information and data pertaining to the size of the relevant markets as well as the shares of the undertakings involved in the concentration scheme and their competitors were based solely on the estimates made by the applicant. The President of the Office considered it necessary to verify the information in question, since the absence of reliable and publicly available data made it impossible for the concentration scheme to be assessed in an appropriate manner. The decision has been reached following a period of market testing, with the deadline for the completion of antitrust proceedings having been extended by a period of 4 months.

The analysis of the evidence gathered has shown that no significant restriction of competition will result from the contemplated concentration scheme. The aggregate shares of the undertakings involved in the concentration scheme on the markets on which such concentration would have an impact were not considered to be large enough to pose a threat to their competitors. After the concentration scheme is completed, Empik will still have to compete against other undertakings. For the above reasons, the UOKiK approved the concentration.

According to the provisions of applicable laws, a transaction 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 decisions approving the concentration expire if the transaction is not completed within 2 years of the adoption thereof. The UOKiK website publishes information on all concentration-related antitrust proceedings conducted by the UOKiK. More information about the principles governing mergers can be found in a dedicated paper.

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