After closing of markets on Wednesday, 20 December 2023, Festi received a Statement of Objections from the ICA for allegedly breaking conditions stated in the ICA‘s decision no. 8/2019 (merger of N1 hf. and Festi hf.). The statement is a part of an investigation that began with an announcement thereof to Festi from the ICA in December 2020. Festi formally responded to their questions in February 2021, as has been disclosed in the Company‘s Financial Statements for the year 2020, 2021 and 2022.
The preliminary assessment in the Statement of Objections is that Festi has broken conditions in it‘s agreement with the ICA dated 30 July 2018 concerning the merger of N1 and Festi, as well as conditions in Article 19, i.e. Article 17 of the Icelandic Competition Act. It is the preliminary assessment of the ICA that the alleged infringements are severe and it is stated that sanctions may be imposed in accordance with Article 37, third paragraph of Article 17 e. and first and second paragraph of Article 16 of the Competition Act.
The Statement of Objections from the ICA does not contain any regulatory decisions or is it in any way binding. As indicated in the Statement of Objections, its purpose is to make it easier for Festi to use its right to object in accordance with law and to promote the right decision to be made on the matter. It is also stated that if arguements, explanations or new information arise, the ICA’s initial assessment may change.
Festi is still of the opinion that the Company has not broken the conditions of the agreement with ICA and preparation to respond to the allegations has begun.
