The Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency revealed a concentration that required prior mandatory notification to the Agency under its monitoring framework.
The case concerned a joint venture LLC "SH Kavkasia" established on Septembe 28, 2023, with the participation of LLC "Sharm Trading" and individual Ioseb Tatarashvili - The Agency imposed a fine on the relevant undertaking for not notifying the concentrationon.
According to the Agency's assessment, individual Ioseb Tatarashvili has control over "Sufta Saxli" LLC. Accordingly, in order to study the implemented concentration, the Agency's assessment of the competitive environment focused on the impact of the economic activities of LLC "Sharm Trading" and LLC "Supta Saxli" on the market.
The Agency assessed the relevant market at the import, wholesale, and retail supply levels. As a consequence, the following information was revealed: the market's import volume is 1 204 837 208 GEL, and the concentration index Herfindahl-Hirschman index HHI = 192.9 units, indicating a low-concentration market. After concentration, the Herfindahl-Hirschman index HHI is 194.6. As a result, the concentration index change (ΔHHI) is 1.70. In terms of wholesale and retail supply, the market is also low-concentrated, with an HHI index of 458 and 648 units, respectively.
Taking into account the aforementioned data, the Agency assessed the concentration implemented through the establishment of a joint venture and its compatibility with the competitive environment; as a consequence, the concentration was determined to be acceptable in the competitive environment.
In 2023, the Competition and Consumer Agency approved nine concentrations.
For information: Concentration is subject to notification to the Agency if the aggregate (total) annual turnover of its participants in the territory of Georgia, as of the previous financial year of the obligation to submit the notification, exceeds 20 million GEL and the annual turnover of at least two persons participating in the concentration exceeds 5 million GEL.
