Competition Authority imposes first fine for pre-implementation

The investigation revealed that the concentration had been carried out without merger control clearance, leading the authority to fine Prointer din6.7 million.

In setting the fine, the authority considered that:

• the concentration raised no competition concerns and would have been cleared had it been notified on time;
• the base for the calculation of the fine was Prointer's annual turnover (ie, operating, financial and other income) as indicated in the 2015 annual financial statement;
• the fine amounted to 0.25% of Prointer's total turnover (10% is the maximum according to the Competition Act);
• the authority found no aggravating circumstances;
• Prointer voluntarily cooperated with the authority during proceedings; and
• Prointer duly filed a merger notification in 2015 when it acquired a 50% share in the target, Alti, but Prointer was unaware that it might be in breach of the Competition Act by acquiring the remaining 50% without the clearance.

This article was first published on www.internationallawoffice.com

author: Srđana Petronijević