Communication

The aim of the protection of market competition is primarily to create benefits for consumers and equal conditions for all entrepreneurs on the market, who, acting in accordance with the existing rules and competing on the market with the quality, price and innovation of their products and services, contribute to the overall development of the economy.
CCA clears the concentration between Bjelin lnvest AB, Sweden / Valinge lnnovation Sweden AB, Sweden
The Croatian Competition Agency (CCA) cleared in the first phase the transaction on the basis of which Bjelin lnvest AB, Sweden, acquires sole control on a permanent basis over the undertaking Valinge lnnovation Sweden AB, Sweden, within the meaning of Article 15 paragraph 1 item 2 of the Competition Act.
Concretely, by the implementation of the concentration concerned the acquirer Bjelin lnvest AB, Sweden – a member of the Pervanovo Group, primarily active in the global wood industry market, acquires sole control over the undertaking Valinge lnnovation Sweden AB and its connected undertakings (Spin Valis Group), also active in the wood industry (transition from join to sole control).
That is to say, both participants primarily operate in the wood industry. Regarding certain activities they perform, their operations overlap at the horizontal level in the production and sale of specific product groups.
The product markets in this case include the production and sale of furniture, sawn (wood) timber, wooden elements/components, wooden panels, wood residues, veneers, flooring and floor coverings, briquettes, as well as the purchase of wooden logs (technical wood) and firewood.
Geographically, all product markets spread on the entire territory of the Republic of Croatia and the EU, except for the markets for the purchase of wooden logs (technical wood) and firewood, where the relevant geographic market is limited exclusively to the territory of the Republic of Croatia.
After receiving the complete notification of the concentration between these undertakings, on 9 January 2025 the CCA published the request for information on its website for all interested parties to submit comments and opinions on the proposed concentration, so that the collected data could contribute to clarifying and better understanding the situation on the relevant markets. Until the prescribed deadline of 20 January 2025, no reply to this request for information was submitted to the CCA.
Based on the complete notification of concentration and other data and findings, the CCA found that it can be reasonably presumed that this concrete concentration would not constitute a prohibited concentration in the sense of Article 16 of the Competition Act.
Taking all the above said into account the notified concentration shall be cleared in the first phase in line with Article 22 paragraph 1 of the Competition Act.
The full version of the CCA decision in the Croatian language is available here