Bulgaria: Competition update
On 19 July 2018 the Bulgarian competition authority prohibited two concentrations:
- The sale of Nova Broadcasting Group AD (owner of Nova TV), Bulgaria’s second largest media conglomerate, to PPF Bidco (owned by Czech businessman Petr Kellner)
- The sale of CEZ’s Bulgarian assets, including its energy distribution business, trade business and renewable energy parks, to Inercom, a Bulgarian company operating three solar power stations
Both decisions involved politically sensitive sectors and faced criticism for lacking solid economic reasoning. The authority provided minimal legal justification and failed to explain how acquiring non-competitors or minor competitors could strengthen a dominant market position and harm competition.
In both cases, horizontal and vertical market overlap was minimal or nonexistent. The concentrations involved acquisitions of large undertakings with market shares approaching or exceeding 40%, while acquirers held insignificant shares up to 5%.
NOVA TV
The parties’ activities overlapped only in e-commerce, where both held approximately 5% market share. Nova Broadcasting Group maintained roughly 40% in TV distribution and advertising markets, while the acquirer had no Bulgarian presence in these sectors.
CEZ
The authority identified horizontal overlap in photovoltaic electricity production and wholesale supply markets. The concentration also generated vertical effects in downstream electricity distribution, supply, and trading markets.