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Decisions

Probable violation of Símans hf., Noona Labs and Noona Iceland ehf. against competition law

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  • Case number: 21/2024
  • Date: 16/7/2024
  • Company:
    • Síminn hf.
    • Noona Labs ehf.
    • Noona Iceland ehf.
  • Sectors:
    • Telecommunications, IT and media
  • Policy Area:
    • Other
  • Summary

    A provisional decision was made on July 12, 2024, due to the probable violation of Síminn hf., Noona Labs ehf., and Noona Iceland ehf. regarding the prohibition on executing a merger before the Competition Authority has taken a position on it. Síminn's purchase of Noona's entire share capital had been notified to the Competition Authority, but the complete notification was received by the Authority on July 4. Therefore, the Competition Authority's investigation of the merger had just begun. In the opinion of the Competition Authority, the data and information available to the authority indicated that the parties to the merger had already started marketing to new customers based on the merger, but Síminn will take over the entire domestic operation of Noona Labs with the purchase of Noona Iceland (hereafter collectively referred to as Noona). Data also indicated that Noona had acquired new customers based on this marketing.

    In EU/EEA competition law and Icelandic law, it is emphasized that merging companies do not execute a merger until the competition authorities have had the opportunity to investigate its competitive effects in accordance with the law. This is important because, by nature, it can result in losses for customers or competitors if a merger is executed before the competition authorities have had the opportunity to decie on possible intervention. The provisional decision stipulated the obligation of Síminn and Noona to cease all marketing on the basis of the merger.

    This interim decision sought to ensure that the implementation of the merger was suspended while investigated. In the following, the Competition Authority would take the probable violations for further investigation.

    It was made clear that this provisional decision does not include any position on Síminn's purchase of Noona, i.e., the impact of the purchase on competition, but the investigation was in the early stages, cf. the merger notification that Síminn had handed over to the Competition Authority due to the merger, dated July 4, 2024.