On 20 October 2026, the Slovenian competition authority opened proceedings to assess whether Lepenka’s acquisition of Recikel complies with competition rules. The authority found indications that the transaction was not notified despite being subject to the Slovenian merger-control rules.

According to publicly available information, Lepenka acquired 100% of Recikel under a sale agreement dated 1 February 2021, thereby obtaining sole control. The authority considers this a concentration because it involved a lasting change of control.

The authority had asked Lepenka to notify the transaction. Lepenka did not file a notification, instead responding with information about whether the notification requirements were met. The authority says some of that information was inconsistent with publicly available data. Although Lepenka had no subsidiaries at the time, it belonged to a group controlled by Salomon; the authority therefore included the group’s companies when assessing the transaction.

The combined annual turnover of the participating companies and their group companies in Slovenia was €45.9 million in 2020, exceeding the €35 million threshold. Recikel’s turnover was €4.1 million, also above the applicable €1 million threshold for the acquired company. The authority says both the legal and economic conditions for mandatory notification were met.

Lepenka was required to notify the acquisition within 30 days of signing the sale agreement but did not do so, including after the authority’s request. The authority has therefore initiated the review on its own initiative; the announcement does not state the outcome of the substantive assessment.