Represented in the investigation initiated by the Competition Council

Our Dispute Resolution team has represented AB Kauno grūdai, one of the largest agriculture companies in Lithuania, in an investigation initiated by the Lithuanian Competition Council.

The investigation was initiated after adoption of the ruling of 15 October 2014 of the Court of Appeal of Lithuania where the Court concluded that the transactions impugned were fictitious and the real party to the said transactions was AB Kauno grūdai. As a result, the Competition Council held that an illegal concentration had been carried out. In this case, the competition authority tries to change the existing case-law arguing that a shareholder retains control over an undertaking during the whole bankruptcy procedure even though a shareholder does not hold the power of a controlling majority nor possesses the right of veto at the meeting of creditors.

Taking into account the scope of the findings and the novelty of the position that the Competition Council holds, the case at hand is of a great importance for the whole concentration control regime.

The Competition Council‘s decision can be challenged before the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court.