Vilnius, May 14, 2025 — A Lithuanian court has ruled that the Estonian media group Ekspress Grupp, owner of the popular news portal Delfi.lt, was rightfully fined for failing to notify authorities about its acquisition of competing news website Lrytas.lt.
The Regional Administrative Court confirmed the decision of the Competition Council, which in December 2023 found that Ekspress Grupp had violated Lithuanian competition law by acquiring 100% of Lrytas shares without prior approval. The court upheld the €140,460 fine imposed on the company and rejected its appeal as unfounded.
In its ruling, the court found that the Competition Council had correctly assessed the factual circumstances of the case, including revenue calculations and other legal considerations. The judgment also affirmed that the authority had applied the law appropriately in determining the penalty.
Under Lithuanian law, companies planning mergers or acquisitions that meet certain thresholds must notify the Competition Council and obtain clearance before completing the transaction. The failure to do so can lead to sanctions and, in some cases, orders to reverse the deal.
As part of the enforcement action, Ekspress Grupp was ordered either to submit a proper merger notification within two months or to unwind the deal and restore the pre-acquisition situation.
Earlier this year, the Competition Council reviewed the company’s belated notification but ultimately denied approval for the transaction. The authority has instructed the Estonian firm to eliminate the effects of the unauthorized concentration, which may include selling off one of the news portals.
That separate decision is also currently being challenged in court.
The ruling handed down today by the first-instance court can be appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania within 30 days.
Source: https://kt.gov.lt/lt/naujienos/teismas-delfi-lt-savininke-pagristai-nubausta-uz-nepranesta-sandori
