The President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection has prohibited the transaction of taking over of the company Merlin by NFI EMPIK. The President of the Office decided that taking over of Merlin by NFI Empik would result in the limitation of competition on the Polish market in the sector of retail on-line sale of non-specialised books and music CDs. Moreover, it would adversely affect the situation of purchasers of non-specialised books on the Polish market. It is worth mentioning that while examining the transaction, the Office has conducted its biggest market research as it has requested the opinion of over 1,100 possible competitors and contractors of EMPIK and Merlin, i.a.: publishing houses, distributors, and on-line stores which sell books and music CDs.

Contact person: Paweł Tomasik, pt@pnplaw.pl