Competition sanctions Central Lechera Asturiana for not notifying the purchase of Flor de Burgos

The National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) has imposed a penalty of 135,000 euros on Corporación Alimentaria Peñasanta (Capsa) for purchasing the company Lácteas Flor de Burgos, failing to comply with the requirement to notify the operation in advance.

The fine, as announced today by the CNMC, is applied to Capsa for the acquisition of Flor de Burgos in December 2023 without prior notification (it did so three months later, thereby violating competition rules). Before To execute an acquisition, companies are obliged to notify the CNMC. According to this organization, Capsa has committed the so-called practice of gun jumping in competition slang (in English, allusion to athletes who start running before the starting gun is fired). This means, according to sources from the National Markets and Competition Commission, failing to comply with article 9.1 of Law 15/2007, of July 3, on the Defense of Competition, which obliges companies to notify their acquisitions to this organism before executing them.

The CNMC was informed of the Capsa operation, specifically, three months later, in March 2024, the formal notification took place on April 8 and on April 17 the purchase was authorized in the first phase. In September 2024, the CNMC initiated a sanctioning procedure against Capsa for having failed to comply with its duty of notification, although the company may directly file a contentious-administrative appeal against this resolution before the National Court within a period of two months. In this sensethe company has indicated to Efeagro that the sanction imposed is due to “a mere formal matter” and “will be subject to appeal” on its part. Capsa acquired 50% of Lactan Holding a year ago, three years after having already purchased another 50% of the company. With this operation, Capsa announced that in 2024 it would exceed 1 billion euros in turnover and 1,200 employees. In addition, the Asturian dairy company incorporates this new factory located in Burgos into the group.

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