30.06.2023 The Competition Council (CC) made a decision to allow the acquisition of the Estonian investment company Dragad OÜ by Maral Invest OÜ, a holding company registered in Estonia. After the merger Dragad OÜ will cease to exist and will be excluded from the Business Register of the Republic of Estonia. The CC did not find any significant harm to competition and therefore decided to clear the transaction.
Maral Invest OÜ is a holding company and the companies in its group, AS “Latvijas Maiznieks”, UAB “Lietuvos kepėjas” and Eesti Pagar AS, deal in the production and wholesale of fresh, defrosted and frozen bread, different kinds of bakery products and pastries. However Dragad OÜ is an investment company registered in Estonia; the main activity of its associated company, Cristella VT OÜ, is producing different kinds of frozen pastries, mostly frozen cakes, sweet buns, pies and croissants, to order.
The merger impacts vertically related markets: market of production and delivery (distribution) of frozen pastries and further on the market for the wholesale of frozen pastries.
Having assessed the information provided by the undertakings and available to the CC, the CC concludes that the merger will not result in a significant change in the market structure, lessen competition, or create or strengthen a dominant position on the affected markets in Latvia, and that the merger is therefore permissible.