INSURANCE COMPANY IMPLEMENTED MERGER REMEDIES PROPERLY

The Competition Council concluded that Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) properly implemented the remedies concerned with the divestiture of business related to international carriers‘ compulsory motor vehicle third party liability (MTPL) insurance in Lithuania.

On 18 August 2016 the Council cleared the acquisition of 100 per cent of BTA Baltic Insurance Company AAS (BTA) shares by VIG on condition that VIG would sell part of its business in order to prevent this merger from resulting in the creation of a dominant position, thus substantially restricting competition in the market of international carriers’ MTPL insurance in Lithuania.

VIG proposed to divest the business of its subsidiary company Compensa Vienna Insurance Group (Compensa) related to international carriers‘ MTPL insurance in Lithuania.

After conducting the assessment, the Council approved the proposed Latvian company Balcia Insurance SE (BI) as the suitable purchaser of the divested business, as well as the insurance portfolio sale and purchase agreement entered into between Compensa and BI.

BI was previously known as BTA Insurance Company which had established BTA Baltic in Lithuania. As mentioned above, in 2016 the Council cleared the acquisition of BTA Baltic by VIG subject to conditions.

Jurgita Brėskytė, Head of Dominant Undertakings and Mergers Supervision Division, said that in cooperation with the appointed trustee UAB Deloitte verslo konsultacijos the Council’s experts carried out careful monitoring of the implementation of remedies and approved their proper implementation only after making sure that the plans of BI to return to the Lithuanian insurance market are based on a long-term strategy.

Due to BI starting its activities in Lithuania, the number of insurance companies offering international carriers‘ MTPL insurance services remained the same as prior to the merger.

Jurgita Brėskytė, Head of Dominant Undertakings and Mergers Supervision Division