The main developments in competition law and policy 2024 – Sweden

Introduction and Summary

As the year 2024 approaches, it’s time to reflect upon the main developments in Swedish competition law from last year. The Swedish Competition Authority (“SCA”) was busy with merger reviews. This included a case before the Patent and Market Courts. The SCA tried to block a pharmacy merger

In the year 2024, the SCA conducted a number of in-depth investigations into notified mergers. The SCA tried to block a pharmacy merger

In 2024, the SCA conducted several in-depth investigations of notified mergers. The SCA blocked the transaction, and the decision was appealed later to the Patent and Market Court. This is only the second time that a prohibition decision was appealed. The Patent and Market Court confirmed the SCA decision in November. The judgment was appealed to the Patent and Market Court of Appeal, which cleared the merger on 7 March 2025 and annulled the SCA’s decision.

Appealed Decision on Record High Fines for Vertical Restraints

Tapwell is a Swedish company supplying bathroom appliances. The SCA fined Tapwell SEK 16,9 million (about EUR 1,6 million) at the end of 2023 for setting prices and terms for its online sales. The SCA has the authority to impose fines since 2021. This is the largest fine for a vertical restriction. Tapwell has appealed this decision

, and the case is under review by the Patent and Market Court, with a ruling expected soon

Approved Merger in the Food Industry

Despite concerns, the SCA approved Axfood’s purchase of the store chain City Gross, mainly active in the hypermarket segment, after an in-depth investigation. Axfood already owned a small stake in City Gross as of 2021. It exercised joint control over City Gross through its minority stake and had a long term cooperation agreement, for example, in logistics, assortment, purchasing, private label, store safety and finance. Axfood gained sole control of City Gross through the notified deal. The SCA determined that even though Axfood would be stronger in certain geographic areas, consumers would still have choices. The SCA cleared a voluntary notification In February 2024, Norway-based EasyPark Group AS (“EasyPark”) voluntarily notified SCA about its acquisition of Mobility 1 SAS (Flowbird) despite not meeting thresholds for mandatory notifications. The SCA used its call-in power to investigate Easy Park’s acquisition in 2019 of Ineleon holding AB, which is likely the reason for the voluntary notice. An acquisition that was reviewed post-closing and which was only cleared after an in-depth investigation.

EasyPark offers mobile payment solutions for parking, while Flowbird primarily offers parking meters in Sweden. The SCA concluded EasyPark would be the largest supplier of parking meters and mobile payments – products that are closely related. The SCA cleared the acquisition in phase one without any conditions. The SCA closed its investigation after fuel companies agreed to stop publishing prices

The SCA closed its investigation after fuel companies agreed to stop publishing pricesThe SCA concluded their investigation into three fuel firms–Circle K OKQ8, Preem, and Preem. They were concerned that their practice to publish daily recommended fuel prices on their websites might have violated the competition rules. Circle K would publish its recommended prices of petrol and diesel each morning. Within an hour, OKQ8 or Preem would respond with the same prices, or prices that differed only by a certain amount. This raised concerns over possible price coordination that could lead to higher prices for consumers. To resolve the issue the companies agreed to stop publishing the prices for three years. The SCA accepted the commitments and concluded that they would effectively address competition concerns. If any of these companies violate this agreement, they may be fined SEK 100,000,000 (approx. EUR 10 million).

Publishing future pricing intentions can lead to

indirect price-fixing

, reducing competition and potentially raising consumer prices. The SCA stressed that such practices are not beneficial to private customers. The SCA and other Nordic Competition Authorities released a report on the competition in labour markets in early 2024. The report shows how agreements between companies not to hire each other’s workers or to fix wages may result in a less effective allocation of resources, and negatively impact the working conditions of employees. The report states that the Nordic countries may be able to mitigate some of the negative effects of wage-fixing agreements and no-poach contracts due to the strong positions held by trade unions and businesses. The report shows the competition authorities are willing to examine non-traditional markets for competition, such as the labour market. This study led to further investigations into several companies in the industry. This study led to additional investigations into several companies within the industry.

A reminder of the SCA’s Call-in powers

The long awaited verdict that put an ending to the Illumina Grail

saga was without doubt the talk of 2024. It is clear, even without analysing the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union that national call in powers will play a greater role for the Commission to be able to examine mergers which are not subjected to mandatory notification within the EU. Therefore, we can expect a greater focus on the SCA’s call-in powers which allow the agency to call in below-threshold mergers in certain circumstances.

Reflections on the Year that has Passed

2024 has been an interesting year for Swedish competition law with the SCA taking decisive action in several cases. The SCA has taken decisive action in several cases. It was a very interesting year for Swedish competition law.

Story originally seen here