On 6 September 2021, the Competition Commission (the “Commission”) has initiated a formal procedure against company MAT – Real Estate for potential gun-jumping. The transaction concerned involves the acquisition of company Radijator d.o.o., a distributor of plumbing and heating equipment.
The Commission initiated the investigation following the publication in the Serbian Business Registers’ Agency on the sale of the target company in bankruptcy proceedings, whereas MAT – Real Estate was registered as the new owner of the target company. Since the acquirer belongs to Matijević group of companies and based on the publicly available information on the turnover generated by Matijević group worldwide and in Serbia, the Commission concluded that the merger filing thresholds were met, making the merger filing mandatory for the acquirer.
In case the Commission finds that gun-jumping occurred, Matijević group of companies could be fined in the amount of up to 10% of the turnover realized in the Republic of Serbia in the year preceding the initiation of proceedings. Following the assessment of the transaction, the Commission may also prohibit the concentration, i.e., order demerger.
This investigation is a continuation of the Commission’s efforts in the merger control field, which has become increasingly active in investigating and pursuing potential unnotified concentrations.
The information in this document does not constitute legal advice on any particular matter and is provided for general informational purposes only.
By Stefan Savic, Associate, and Bojana Miljanovic, Senior Associate, Independent Attorneys at Law in cooperation with Karanovic & Partners
