We are proud to share that Positive Competition recently assisted MOL Group in its successful acquisition of OMV Slovenija.

The acquisition involved the third (MOL) and second (OMV) largest players in the market for motor fuels in Slovenia and led to an in-depth investigation by the European Commission. Our team helped MOL navigate the complexities of the process, ultimately obtaining clearance from the European Commission. Positive Competitions key contributions to the investigation included:

• Local retail analysis: Our experts conducted an innovative analysis of local market positions pre- and post-transaction. In particular, our team highlighted the shortcomings of the standard presence-based and catchment areas approaches and proposed an alternative micro-founded review of local market positions with a focus on demand and consumer choice.
• Remedy optimisation: Our team designed and implemented a state-of-the-art algorithm for optimising asset divestment strategies. This critical work stream empowered MOL Group to proactively identify the most appropriate remedy packages.
• Pro-competitive analysis: Our team assisted MOL in reviewing the pro-competitive aspects of the transaction.

For more information, please see the press release of the European Commission: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_2781

We would like to express our gratitude to MOL Group and Márton Horányi and Zoltan Barakonyi from Baker McKenzie for their trust in Positive Competition. 

We also enjoyed working with Franz Urlesberger from Schoenherr Attorneys at Law, on OMV’s side, as well as Sven Voelcker from Latham & Watkins on this very interesting transaction.

Last but not least, we would also like to thank the Positive Competition team for their remarkable efforts that made the transaction possible.