Intesa-Ubi: Antitrust posts, branch transfer to Bper is not enough

 The Antitrust Authority believes that the concentration between Intesa and Ubi "is not at the state of the documents likely to be authorized" as it is capable of "producing the establishment and / or strengthening of the" Intesa "dominant position in numerous markets" without The agreement for the sale of a business branch to Bper "can be considered as an intervention aimed at resolving competitive problems". This is what emerges from the communication of the preliminary findings to the parties, viewed by ANSA. 

The agreement not agreed upon by Intesa on Ubi "conceals the desire to eliminate a fearsome operator and confirms the absolute competitive value of Ubi". This is what Ubi argued before the Antitrust, on the basis of the preliminary findings sent by the authority to the parties. According to Ubi, the oops eliminates a subject capable of "exerting significant competitive pressure" and "the only medium-sized competitor" capable of "creating in the short / medium term a third alternative pole" to Intesa and Unicredit.

Intesa's oops on Ubi is "characterized by pro-competitive profiles, since by distancing Intesa's position from that of Unicredit" it can "limit the risk of tacit collusion and coordination effects, typical of contexts in which few operate subjects with similar positioning ". It would also allow "to transfer a substantial part" of the efficiencies created "to consumers". These are the considerations made by Intesa to the Antitrust Authority, as summarized in the preliminary investigation findings of the authority.