The Competition Council (CC) has adopted a decision authorising IKEA Forestry Investment AB to acquire sole decisive influence over KURZEME TIMBERLAND SIA.
IKEA Forestry Investment AB forms part of Inter IKEA Holding BV and its affiliated companies (the Inter IKEA Group). The Inter IKEA Group is primarily active in the development, production and retail of products under the IKEA brand, including home furnishings and food. Its activities also extend to the production and distribution of wood panels, boards, furniture and components, the maintenance of IKEA products, wholesale trade in packaging materials and food, franchise-related activities, management of IKEA intellectual property, and the development of marketing content.
In Latvia, companies belonging to the Inter IKEA Group are mainly engaged in forestry and forestry-related activities, such as felling and timber sales, as well as in the retail sale of IKEA products. To a limited extent, the group also leases agricultural and forest land.
KURZEME TIMBERLAND SIA, together with its subsidiary ZEMGALE TIMBERLAND SIA, operates in the forestry sector and related activities. These include forestry management, indirect logging activities through the sale of felling rights (standing timber), the purchase and sale of owned real estate, and the leasing of agricultural land and hunting rights.
Based on the information submitted in the merger notification and its competitive assessment, the Competition Council concluded that the transaction would affect the markets for forestry and the acquisition of timber resources (including logging) within the territory of Latvia. The merger would also have an impact on the markets for timber sales, as well as the leasing of agricultural and forest land. In addition, the transaction concerns vertically related markets for timber procurement and timber product production involving the merging parties. The Competition Council left the precise geographical scope of these markets open for the purposes of its assessment.
Following its analysis, the Competition Council determined that the concentration would not lead to a significant change in market structure, would not reduce competition, and would not result in the creation or strengthening of a dominant position in any of the relevant markets. Accordingly, and pursuant to Section 16, Part Four of the Competition Law, the merger was declared permissible.