Merged Nay Datart must sell nine stores
PMÚ, the anti-trust authority, approved the merger of electronics retailers HP Tronic (Danuše Hradilová) and Nay (Peter Zálešák and Ján Tomáš), on condition they sell three stores in Bratislava and one each in Piešťany, Prešov, Košice, Spišská Nová Ves, Trenčín, and Zvolen. HP Tronic operates 29 stores in Slovakia under the Datart brand and Nay has 40 stores here; the merged entity, Nay Datart, will be the biggest electronics retailer, with 60 stores in Slovakia and 190 in Czechia. The PMÚ argued that even taking into account online stores, the combined entity would have too dominant a position in the regions concerned. It also set a cap on the number of stores the new entity can have, but did not disclose it. Nay will have a minority stake in the new entity.
Interestingly, the Czech anti-trust authority did not impose any similar conditions for the Czech market, as it considered the competition of online store to be a sufficient check on market power.
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