The Competition Authority's prohibition of Schibsted's purchase of Nettbil set aside
Supreme Court judgment 16 February 2023, HR-2023-299-A, (case no. 22-076582SIV-HRET), civil case, appeal against judgment.
The State represented by the Competition Authority (The Office of the Attorney General represented by Lisa-Mari Moen Jünge), (Assisting counsel Pål Erik Wennerås) v. Schibsted ASA (Counsel Håkon André Cosma Størdal), (Assisting Counsel Stephan Lange Jervell)
Schibsted ASA is the majority owner of Finn AS, which sells, among other things, classified advertisements for cars for sale on the online marketplace "Finn.no". In 2019, the company bought the majority of shares in Nettbil AS, which runs "Nettbil.no". This is an online marketplace for second-hand cars sold from private individuals to car dealers through an online auction. The Competition Authority and the Competition Tribunal prohibited the merger that the acquisition entailed, see section 16 of the Competition Act. The Supreme Court, like the Court of Appeal, found that the Competition Tribunal's decision was invalid. It was assumed that the companies' products are not in the same relevant product market, pointing out that Finn's product is limited to a classified advertising service for the sale of second-hand cars, while Nettbil's product is a takeover of all sales work and the car transaction itself. The advertising service is only a small part of what Nettbil offers. There are also other differences between the companies' products, not least a significant price difference. The acquisition would therefore not impede effective competition. The Norwegian Competition Authority's appeal against the Court of Appeal's judgment was dismissed.
Area of law: Competition law. Section 16 of the Competition Act.
Key paragraphs: 65-66, 79-80, 94-95.
Justices: Indreberg, Matheson, Bull, Arntzen, Sæther