Prohibit the district heating merger between Logstor and Powerpipe

The companies Logstor and Powerpipe are both active on the market for district heating pipes and other products related to district heating. They are also two of the largest actors in the country. Logstor plans to acquire its competitors Powerpipe, which according to the Swedish Competition Authority, would have a significant impact on the market and on customers, should the merger go ahead.

In order to prohibit the planned business deal the Swedish Competition Authority turned to the Stockholm District Court. However, the court carried out a different assessment than the Swedish Competition Authority, for example concerning the definition of the geographic market. The Swedish Competition Authority considers that the effects must be assessed on the Swedish market, while the district court took the view that the assessment should include "Northern Europe".

"The Swedish Competition Authority has carefully studied the District Court's ruling and can confirm that we unfortunately failed to persuade the court to take on board the, in our opinion, compelling evidence that exists for our view," says The Swedish Competition Authority's General Director, Dan Sjöblom, in a comment.

"If the merger is allowed to go ahead, this would likely lead to price increases and other degradations that could affect customers, and ultimately all the consumers who use district heating in their homes. This is why we are now appealing to the highest courts," says Dan Sjöblom.