Merger of GÞ holding ehf. and Gámaþjónustan ehf.

The Icelandic competition authority (ICA) has examined the merger between GÞ holding ehf. and Gámaþjónustan ehf. The owners of GÞ holding are Barone I ehf., which is a privately held investment company, and SÍA III slhf., which is a private equity fund managed by Stefnir hf., subsidiary of Arion banki hf. After the proposed transaction Gámaþjónustan ehf. will be under joint control of these investors. Gámaþjónustan is a waste disposal company and its clients are corporations and municipalities. The company also operates a garbage collection site for the public. The company has various subsidiaries that have similar operations such as Efnamóttakan which is a collects and disposes of electronic and hazardous waste and Hafnarbakki-Flutningatækni ehf. that takes care of importations for the group.

After investigating the merger and assessing information on the markets involved it is ICA's result that the merger will not cause increased concentration in any of the markets involved. However the ICA has imposed conditions in the case that are intended to ensure the commercial independence of Gámaþjónustan and its subsidiaries towards Arion banki. There are effective conditions in place that ensure the commercial independence of Arion banki towards Stefnir hf. These conditions were put in place in case no. 7/2014 when Bekei hf. bought Kaupás and more companies that formerly were part of the Norvik group. The results of this investigation are that the imposed conditions are sufficient to hinder the competition problem that otherwise would have arisen from this merger.