UPDATE: Antitrust clears Magnit to acquire Dixy retail chain, with order

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MOSCOW, Jul 15 (PRIME) -- The Federal Antimonopoly Service has cleared Russian grocery retailer Magnit to buy retail chain Dixy, but issued a prescriptive order, because the united chain’s market share will exceed the monopoly threshold of 25% in some regions, as seen by PRIME in the watchdog’s materials on Thursday.

“(Magnit’s operating unit) Tander and its affiliated persons, Dixy Group, Dixy Yug, MIT, Dixy Snezhinsk and Agrument, and their affiliated persons, should take into consideration (dominance threshold) restrictions envisaged by… the commerce law,” the authority said.

The antimonopoly service also said that the united company should ensure competition and that the approval is valid only if the prescriptive order is fulfilled.

Magnit will not receive Dixy’s 142 stores in 52 municipalities to prevent the united company’s dominance there, and the market share in 22 more municipalities should be reduced until July 1, 2022, the watchdog said.

Magnit also accepted an obligation to set zero trade markups for some socially important goods including milk, bread and poultry.

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