The Icelandic Competition Authority investigated the purchase of Brim hf. of all the shares in Fiskvinnslan Kambur hf. and Grábrók ehf

The Icelandic Competition Authority investigated the purchase of Brim hf. of all the shares in Fiskvinnslan Kambur hf. and Grábrók ehf. All the companies operate in the field of fishing and fish processing.

The initial assessment of ICA was that prior to the notification of the merger, Útgerðarfélag Reykjavíkur and related parties had acquired control over Brim. However, the merger notification contained no discussion on the transactions leading to the acquisition of control. For those reasons, the ICA doubted whether the notification could be considered satisfactory within the meaning of Article 17 of the Competition Act and Rules no. 684/2008. Since the assessment of control in Brim was considered a prerequisite for a material decision to be taken on the merger, this aspect of the case was examined in more detail.

Following further communication with the parties to the merger and considering their views on the delicate status of the merger transaction, the ICA decided to postpone the final decision on the acquisition of control in Brim. Instead, an independent investigation would be initiated into whether such control existed.

Assuming that Útgerðarfélag Reykjavíkur and related parties had acquired control over Brim, it was the opinion of the ICA that the merger of Brim, Kambur and Grábrók would neither create nor strengthen a dominant position of the merged company. In addition, there were no indications that Brim's acquisition of Kambur and Grábrók would significantly distort competition. Therefore, there were no grounds for intervention because of the merger.