Multikino has been given conditional permission to acquire Silver Screen cinemas by the President of the Protection of Competition and Consumers' Office (UOKiK).
The acquisition will give Multikino a 30% share of the Polish cinema market and consolidate its position as Poland's second largest cinema chain.
Permission was granted on condition that Multikino does not take any step to acquire rights to another multiplex cinema in Gdynia. It is also required to notify the UOKiK of the total number of cinemas under its ownership in Gdynia until there is competition in Gdynia.
It is not that common practice for UOKiK to give conditional consent: it only happened twice in 2007 and is the first decision of this kind in 2008. It may only be issued where the transaction will not result in a substantial limitation of competition and the participants comply with additional conditions such as selling property or shares or granting a license to a competitor.
Under Polish law, consent from UOKiK is required for any acquisition or merger when the combined annual turnover both parties to the transaction exceeds €50 million in Poland or €1 billion worldwide.
This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq
Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.
The original publication date for this article was 23/06/2008.
