Bulgaria's Agria Group seeks antitrust nod to buy Komerce

Agria Group and its subsidiaries specialise in the production, storage, processing, transport and trade of cereals and oilseeds, along with the trade of products, such as refined sunflower oil and ethanol, the Commission on Protection of Competition (CPC) said in a statement.

Targovishte-based Komerce is focused on producing, storing and trading cereals and oilseeds. The farming group plans to take control of Komerce's agricultural land, cereals and oilseeds, including wheat, barley, rapeseed, corn and sunflower seed.

There is a horizontal overlap in the cereals market where Agria Group operates and the market in which Komerce is engaged, the CPC said.

Interested third parties can submit comments on the transaction in the next seven days.

As of 0957 CET on Thursday, shares in Agria Group traded flat at 20.20 ($11.02/10.33 euro) levs on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.

(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)