June 2025 – In a key ruling,
Ukraine's Supreme Court has upheld a previously overturned
conditional merger clearance by the Antimonopoly Committee of
Ukraine (AMC) concerning two major Ukraine-based cement producers,
namely CRH Ukraine and Dyckerhoff Cement Ukraine.
Back in September 2024, the Commercial Court of Kyiv annulled a
conditional merger clearance issued by the AMC for the
CRH-Dyckerhoff transaction. Approved earlier that same
month1, with stipulated obligations related to
production levels and fair market access, the merger clearance soon
faced a legal challenge from competitor Kovalska, leading to months
of litigation. Kovalska alleged that the AMC's Phase II
investigation lacked an adequate competitive analysis, particularly
within the ready-mix concrete market, and was marred by procedural
deficiencies such as Kovalska not being admitted to participate in
the Phase II merger review. During the case, Kovalska argued that
the proposed merger also
