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COMP ET I T I ON LAW
89
Conditional Authorization to the Acquisition of Burgaz by
Mey
*
The Competition Board (hereinafter referred to as the “Board”)
authorized the acquisition of Burgaz Alcoholic Beverages Commercial and
Economic Union (hereinafter referred to as “Burgaz”) which the Saving
Deposit Insurance Fund offered for sale by Mey İçki Sanayi ve Ticaret
A.Ş. (hereinafter referred to as “Mey İçki”) under certain conditions.
The summarized decision (hereinafter referred to as the “Decision”) was
published on the official website of the Competition Authority on July 12,
2010
1
.
Decision’s Background
The Board, in its decision dated 18 November 2009 and numbered 09-
56/1325-331, unanimously rejected the acquisition of Burgaz by Mey İçki
within the scope of Article 7 of the Act on the Protection of Competition
No. 4054 (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”)
2
. The Board rejected the
acquisition because in case of acquisition:
•
The competition would be significantly restricted,
•
Mey İçki would have its dominant position strengthened in the raki
market and
•
Mey İçki would become dominant in the other markets for alcoholic
beverages other than the market for raki.
Nevertheless, in its decision, theBoard rejected the proposed acquisition
without asking the parties to submit their commitments. However, in order
to permit the improvement of both the social welfare and the economy, it
would be more appropriate if the Board had asked the parties to submit
commitments instead of simply rejecting the proposed acquisition. It is also
stated in Article 6 of the Commission notice on remedies acceptable under
Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 and under Commission Regulation
(EC) No 802/2004 numbered 2008/C- 267/01 and dated October 22,
2008 (hereinafter referred to as the “Notice”) that the Commission must
*
Article of July 2010
1 The justified decision of the Board is not published yet. To consult the decision, see the follow-
ing link:
http://www.rekabet.gov.tr/index.php.2 To consult the decision, see the following link.
http://www.rekabet.gov.tr/dosyalar/kararlar/karar3183.pdf.