June 5 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's competition authority said that it unconditionally approved the planned takeover by air conditioning system supplier Fujitsu General Euro GmbH, the European arm of Japan-based Fujitsu General Limited, of its distributor in Southeast Europe, Greece-based FG South East Europe (FGSEE).
The notified transaction could not harm competition in terms of the positions of the involved parties in the air conditioning systems distribution market as it relates to the vertical integration of manufacturer and distributor, the Commission on Protection of Competition (CPC) said in a statement last week.
You can subscribe to our M&A newsletter here
In the course of the inquiry, the CPC found that the market share of FGSEE in the air conditioning systems distribution market is between 10% and 20%, which will remain unchanged after the transaction, as Fujitsu General Euro operates exclusively through FGSEE and has no independent sales in the country. This ensures that FGSEE's market positions within the Fujitsu General group are maintained, aligning with Fujitsu's goal of improving its sales, along with resale and after-sales services.
FGSEE serves as a distributor of Fujitsu General air conditioners and after-sales service provider in Greece, Bulgaria and other Balkan countries, along with Turkey.
Fujitsu General Euro sought approval from the CPC to buy FGSEE in April, without making public the value of the deal.