The Council of the Competition Protection Agency (AZTN) has deemed the merger of Hrvatski Telekom (HT) and the IT company Combis d.o.o. permissible as a concentration in the wholesale market for IT equipment and the market for IT services in Croatia, as reported today by AZTN.
Since HT did not operate in the wholesale market for IT equipment or in the market for IT services prior to acquiring Combis, its share in these markets will not exceed 10 percent, according to the rationale of the decision. The Agency assesses that this merger will not have negative effects on market competition in the mentioned markets, but positive synergy effects are expected in the provision of IT and telecommunications services. They also note that since the integrated provision of IT and telecommunications services will ultimately result in higher quality, a richer selection, and more favorable prices for these services, it can be expected that in the future similar merger moves will be undertaken by competing companies in the mentioned markets.
This would also be in line with trends in the IT market, which, as AZTN adds, is characterized by the integration of IT and telecommunications activities for a more quality offering. HT signed a Sales and Transfer Agreement with Combis at the end of March this year, whereby HT acquires a 100 percent stake in Combis. It was also indicated that the value of this transaction is 25.5 million euros (approximately 185.3 million kuna) up to a maximum of 31.5 million euros (approximately 228.9 million kuna). (H)
