Sofia, July 19 (BTA) - The Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) has barred PPF TMT Bidco 2 B.V. (the Netherlands) from gaining control over Bulgaria's Nova Broadcasting Group AD and, indirectly, over its subsidiaries Netinfo AD and Eva Agency OOD.
Analyzing the intended deal, the CPC acknowledged the leading position of Nova Broadcasting Group in the Bulgarian media services market, which raises concern about the effect of such a deal on the competitive environment, and saw horizontal overlapping of the activities of the parties involved in the concentration in the market for online trade, the regulator wrote on its website.
Nova Broadcasting Group possesses considerable financial and organizational resources, a capacity to save resources through scale and scope, and a well-established image. The considerable number of mass communication media which would be acquired by the united group would give it a significant advantage over other media service providers, the CPC said.
Therefore, the parties involved in the concentration would have a reason and an opportunity to alter their commercial policy in various ways resulting in access limitation, price increase and contract revisions. Considering all this, and given the extensive experience and the investment plans of the intended buyer, the CPC sees prerequisites for the deal to establish or reinforce a dominant position which would raise major obstacles to competition in the respective markets. Such conduct would limit and harm not only market competition but also the interests of consumers, given the social significance of the media, the regulator concluded.
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