The Italian Competition and Market Authority has given the green light to the merger by incorporation of Coop Centro Italia into Unicoop Tirreno, which will lead to the creation of Unicoop Etruria. The Antitrust Authority has established that the operation does not significantly impede competition in the markets concerned, nor does it determine the creation or strengthening of a dominant position, thus excluding the need for an investigation.
According to the official bulletin, in five of the ten geographical areas analyzed (the so-called isochrones 6-10), the market shares resulting from the merger remain below the 25% threshold, not generating competitive concerns.
In the remaining areas where the shares exceed this threshold, the Antitrust has nevertheless detected limited increases: between 5 and 15%. In isochrones 2 and 3, where the new entity will reach a share of 40-45%, the increase will be marginal, between 1 and 5%, and the diversion ratio – an indicator of substitutability between competing offers – is well below the critical threshold of 20%, settling at 0,6% and 0,4% respectively. The overall analysis of the operation therefore confirms the absence of negative effects on local competition, paving the way for cooperative consolidation in central Italy.
