September 3 (SeeNews) - Switzerland-based ICT solutions and services provider Also Holding is seeking an anti-trust approval to acquire 100% of Bulgarian IT solutions distributor Solytron, Bulgaria's Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) said.
The transaction is expected to affect trade in ICT equipment on the territory of the European Economic Area (EEA), CPC said in a notice last week.
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Interested parties have until September 5 to submit their opinion on the notified deal to the competition authority.
In August, Also Holding, which is active on the Latvian market, said it is seeking approval from Latvia's Competition Council to acquire Solytron Bulgaria.
"As a solution distributor, the company provides not only hardware and software but also first-rate service competence. Solytron thereby underpins at the same time our claim to become the leading full-service provider to the channel across Europe," Gustavo Moller-Hergt, CEO of Also Holding, said in April, when the company first announced it will acquire Solytron Bulgaria.
On completion of the acquisition Also Holding will be represented in almost all East European markets, except Russia, with total market volume of about 30 billion euro, the company said at the time. Currently, Also Holding is present in 22 European countries.
Solytron Bulgaria posted revenue of 215 million levs ($120 million/110 million euro) last year, up from 172.3 million levs in 2017, according to the company most recent financial statement available.
Also Holding, majority-owned by Germany-based investment company Droege Group, connects over 100,000 clients with more than 550 providers of ICT services in 18 European countries. The company's portfolio includes logistics, financial and supply services as well.
Solytron Bulgaria, founded in Sofia in 1991, trebled its sales revenue between 2011 and 2018 and sells solutions and products of over 50 leading manufacturers.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)