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PRESS MARKET – DECISION OF UOKIK
The President of UOKiK has given her consent to take over companies belonging to the
Bertelsmann group, owing such papers as Gala, Claudia, National Geographic Edycja
Polska, or Focus Historia by Burda International, the publisher of glossy magazines
including Elle, Dobre Rady, or Burda
[Warszawa, 1st August 2013] The participants to the concentration constitute a part of
media concerns operating worldwide. Burda International belongs to the Burda group,
whereas the companies to be acquired (G+J Gruner+Jahr Polska, G+J Gruner+Jahr Polska
sp. komandytowa, G+J Media and G+J) belong to the Bertelsmann group, and deal, inter
alia, with publishing books and periodicals as well as provide financial and printing services
for publishing houses.
The conducted proceedings revealed that the only segment where, as a result of
concentration, Burda International would enjoy a significant market share, is the home
sales market of cooking magazines. Burda issues titles such as Prześlij przepis and Polska
gotuje, whereas the companies to be acquired - Moje Gotowanie. However, the
examination of the Office proved that magazines concerning only cooking issues face
greater competition, as other magazines (mainly women’s press) place cooking tips
colums, provide free of charge inserts. Moreover, they compete with book publishing
houses and recipes available on the Internet. Additionally, the Office took into
consideration the fact that new cooking issues publishers face insignificant market entry
barriers.
For this reason the President of UOKiK decided that concentration would not result in
a significant restriction of competition and granted her consent to take controlover
companies belonging to the Bertelsmann group by Burda International.
Under the law, any transaction is subject to notification to the antitrust authority if it
involves undertakings whose total turnover achieved in the preceding year exceeds EUR 1
billion worldwide or EUR 50 million in Poland.
Decisions granting consent to implement a concentration expire if the merger is not
completed within 2 years from the decision issue date. Information about all
concentration-related antitrust proceedings conducted by the Office is available on the
Office’s website. For more information concerning merging undertakings please see the
specifically made study.
Additional information for the media:
Małgorzata Cieloch, Spokesperson for UOKiK
Department of International Relations and Communication
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa
Tel.: +48 22 827 28 92, 55 60 314, 55 60 430
Fax: +48 22 826 11 86
E-mail: [email protected]