The Latvian competition authority, known as the Competition Council, has been notified of a proposed merger involving Nextwood Two GmbH, an Austrian holding company, which aims to acquire a controlling interest in the Latvian wood processing company Kurekss.

Nextwood Two GmbH is indirectly owned by HS Timber Group GmbH, a leading global player in the wood processing industry, which operates in various sectors including timber trading and bioenergy production. HS Timber has manufacturing facilities in Austria, Germany, Romania, Finland, and Argentina, employing over 2,700 people and serving clients in 80 countries. In Latvia, HS Timber already owns the wood processing company Vika Wood.

Kurekss is a manufacturer and exporter of sawn timber, operating a sawmill in the Ventspils region. Additionally, Kurekss is the sole owner of Kurzemes Granulas, a company engaged in the production and trading of wood pellets.

The merger participants are involved in overlapping markets, specifically in the production and sale of sawn timber, procurement of raw timber (horizontal overlap), and the production and wholesale of pellets (vertical overlap).

The Competition Council is required to make a decision on the merger approval, prohibition, or conditional approval within one month of receiving the notification. If a more in-depth investigation is necessary, the decision period may be extended to three months from the notification date.

Market participants or other interested parties wishing to provide feedback on the potential impact of the merger on competition are invited to contact the Competition Council's economist Vilnis Zakrevski by March 28, 2025.