Lithuania’s Competition Council will soon rule on the acquisition of the Lrytas.lt news Website by the Estonian media group Ekspress Grupp, which operates the Delfi news brand in the Baltic States. Several sources familiar with this situation have told the Vz.lt business news site that the owner of Delfi is trying to sell Lrytas.lt and is seeking potential buyers who might be interested in the media business.
The Competition Council does not speculate on market issues and is expected to announce its decision during the latter half of this week. Lrytas.lt CEO Tautvydas Mikalajunas is also expecting the verdict by the end of this week or by early next week.
“I know nothing and cannot comment on anything further,” Mikalajunas told Vz.lt. “We are now focused on the council’s decision and its official position, and we are waiting for them.”
As reported in the past, the competition watchdog ruled in December 2023 that Ekspress Grupp had violated the competition law when purchasing Lrytas, which runs the Lrytas.lt news Website, without notifying the authorities and obtaining their permission. The Estonian firm was fined EUR 140,000 and ordered to end the infringement within two months’ time, to restore the previous situation, or remedy the consequences of the infringement.
Ekspress Grupp appealed this decision before the courts, seeking a temporary injunction against the order. Lithuania’s Supreme Administrative Court rejected this request in February.
It was announced in February of last year that the Competition Council had postponed the deadline for Ekspress Grupp to submit its notification of the transaction until March 22. A spokeswoman for the council told BNS at the time that Express Grupp had not missed the deadline for submitting the notification, but as it required revision, it was only accepted in May.
Source: BNS
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