Vilnius, September 10, 2025 – Lithuania’s Supreme Administrative Court has upheld a decision by the country’s Competition Council (CC) to block Latvian food producer Dobeles dzirnavnieks from acquiring its Lithuanian rival Baltic Mill, citing risks to market competition.
The ruling, delivered on Tuesday (September 9), rejected Dobeles dzirnavnieks’ appeal and confirmed an earlier verdict by the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court. Judges concluded that the CC acted lawfully in finding the proposed deal — which would have given Dobeles full control of Baltic Mill and its subsidiary Malsena plius — would significantly restrict competition in Lithuania’s flour, flour mixtures, and pasta markets.
In August 2022, the CC prohibited the merger, reasoning that Dobeles and Baltic Mill are two of the strongest players in an already concentrated sector. Combining the two players would give the merged entity a dominant market position, sharply reducing competitive pressure and harming consumer choice, the agency said. Furthermore, remedies offered by the companies were deemed insufficient to offset these risks.
With the Supreme Administrative Court’s decision, which is final and cannot be appealed, Dobeles’ bid to expand into Lithuania through the acquisition of Baltic Mill has definitively collapsed.
