Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of iCR by MVM

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of innogy Česká republika a.s. (‘iCR’) of Czechia by MVM Magyar Villamos Művek Zártkörűen Működő Részvénytársaság (‘MVM’) of Hungary. iCR is active in the electricity and gas retail business in Czechia, combined with generation, wholesale, distribution and some additional non-core activities. MVM is a state-owned vertically integrated energy group with a portfolio that covers the entire Hungarian energy system. It is involved in heat generation, electricity trading, gas trading and storage, transmission system operation, wholesale and retail supply of gas and electricity, district heating, and telecommunication services. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns, given the companies' moderate combined market position resulting from the proposed transaction. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. More information is available on the Commission's competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.9927.