The Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) ruled on January 16, 2026, confirming a €600,000 penalty against Valio, initially imposed by the Market Court for violating merger conditions related to its acquisition of Heinon Tukku.

In 2021, the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA) conditionally approved Valio's acquisition of Heinon Tukku, a foodservice wholesale company, under the condition that Valio would protect competitors' confidential pricing information. This was crucial to prevent Valio from gaining an unfair advantage in pricing due to access to sensitive information.

However, in late 2022, Valio reported a breach in its IT system that allowed unauthorized access to competitors' pricing data. The FCCA proposed a €900,000 fine for this breach, but the Market Court ultimately imposed a lower penalty of €600,000, citing a narrower interpretation of the breach.

The FCCA appealed for a higher penalty, but the SAC upheld the Market Court's decision, emphasizing that the obligation to protect sensitive information was only applicable to Valio's employees after the internal merger of Heinon Tukku into Valio.

This case underscores the complexities and uncertainties surrounding behavioral commitments in merger approvals, as the courts noted that Valio's commitments did not fully resolve the identified competition issues.