Relevant legislation and statutory standards

The legislation applicable to mergers and other types of concentration in Sweden is the 2008 Swedish Competition Act (‘the Competition Act’). The Swedish concentration-control rules are based on the EU merger regulation, and should be interpreted in line with those rules. Thus, in addition to Swedish case law and preparatory works, the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Commission’s guidelines and decisional practice are relevant also for the application of the Swedish concentration-control rules (refer to Annex 1 at the end of the chapter).

Decision-making bodies and enforcement authority(ies)

In Sweden, decision-making in relation to concentrations is divided between the Swedish Competition Authority (SCA) and the Stockholm City Court. The SCA may approve, with or without commitments, notified concentration, but has, in contrast to e.g. the European Commission, no power to prohibit a concentration. Instead, the SCA must initiate an action before the Stockholm City Court, which has the power to prohibit a concentration. A judgment by the Stockholm City Court in concentration cases may be appealed to the Market Court.

The SCA is an independent, administrative state authority with a director-general appointed by the Government. The SCA is divided into four competition departments, which are responsible for different sectors of the economy.