For the first time in Finnish merger control history, parties to
a merger committed to an upfront-buyer provision. On 19 April 2021,
the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority
("FCCA") approved the merger between
Altia Oyj ("Altia") and Arcus ASA
("Arcus") subject to conditions.
Both Altia and Arcus produce and distribute alcoholic beverages.
The FCCA's investigation concluded that the proposed merger
could significantly reduce the level of competition in Finland in
the sales of both aquavit to hotel, restaurant, and catering
customers and berry liqueurs to the national retail monopoly
Alko.
To address the competition concerns in the aquavit market, Altia
agreed to sell the Skåne Akvavit brand in Finland. Regarding
the berry liqueurs market, Arcus agreed to terminate the
distribution agreement for Metsmaasikas strawberry liqueur. The
parties sign up to an upfront-buyer provision, which means that the
merger cannot be implemented until a binding contract has
