February 4 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) said on Monday that it is launching an in-depth probe into arms maker Emko's planned acquisition of local peer Dunarit, in line with a recent ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC).
In January, the SAC cancelled a decicion by the competition regulator dating back to 2016 to let the deal move ahead without analysing it, CPC documents showed.
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Back in 2016, when Emko notified the competition regulator of the planned acquisition, CPC decided that it would not look into the deal because the combined turnover of the two companies was below the regulatory limit.
The anti-trust body's decision was challenged in court by local company Viafot Investment Bulgaria, which operates in the same market segment as the parties to the deal.
The regulator has failed to consider the turnover of Dunarit's parent company - Kemira, as well as two of Dunarit's units - Sana Park Resort Management and Machineinvest-consulting, which will also be acquired by Emko in accordance with the announced terms of the transaction, the court ruled in January.
According to the court ruling, the regulator has also incorrectly calculated the domestic turnover of the two companies.