Finland & Lithuania: Lithuanian court upholds decision to block Viking Malt’s deal with local maltster Maltosa

The Lithuanian Supreme Administrative Court has upheld the Competition Council's decision to block a deal between the Finnish-owned malt producer Viking Malt and Maltosa, a Svencioneliai-based malting company that is indirectly owned by businessman Vilius Kaikaris. The court dismissed Viking Malt's appeal in a final ruling on Oct. 3, informs LETA/BNS.

"In the opinion of the college of judges, Viking Malt's expansion per se could have negative consequences due to concentration in that it could significantly restrict market entry for small-sized participants, which would undoubtedly have an impact on pilsen malt prices in Lithuania," the court said.

The court agreed with the competition watchdog's finding that the probability of a new company launching pilsen malt production in the country is very low.

Finland's Viking Malt has three malting factories, in Lithuania, Finland and Sweden. The Lithuanian facility's biggest customers include global beer producers, such as France's Castel and South Africa's SABMiller, Denmark's Carlsberg Group and Finland's Olvi.

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