Following Ahold’s announcement of its planned acquisition of Tesco stores in the Czech Republic, the Czech competition authority says it has received public submissions and objections. It issued an explanation of how merger reviews work, but has not begun examining this transaction because it has not received a request for approval.

Under Czech rules, the authority can open merger proceedings only after a filing by a future party to the transaction. For an acquisition of control, only the buyer can file; the authority cannot initiate proceedings on its own. A filing is generally required when the parties’ combined Czech turnover exceeds CZK 1.5 billion and at least two parties each have Czech turnover above CZK 250 million, or when one party has Czech turnover above CZK 1.5 billion and another has worldwide turnover above that amount. Where the transaction also meets the relevant EU merger-control turnover thresholds, the European Commission is responsible for the review.

Once a filing is received, the authority assesses the affected relevant markets, changes in market shares and concentration, and the strength of competitors, suppliers, and customers. Depending on the transaction, it may examine local markets as well as national ones, including areas defined by the distance customers can travel to the parties’ stores.

When the authority has all necessary information and documents, a review takes 20 or 30 calendar days. A complicated case may be moved to a second phase after the first month, allowing up to a further four months of investigation.

The authority says the Ahold–Tesco transaction may be filed with the European Commission because it is European in scope. National competition authorities can request that a case be referred to them to assess its effects in their country, and the merging parties can also request such a transfer. The Czech authority says it is prepared to seek the transfer.