Green light from the Competition Authority to the merger between Nexi and Sia, with some corrections to avoid possible anti-competitive effects from the transaction.
The conditions set by the Antitrust for the merger by incorporation of Sia into Nexi consist of “some behavioral and structural measures in order to resolve the concerns that emerged during the investigation regarding the possible anti-competitive effects deriving from the transaction itself”.
The measures consist in Nexi’s waiver of the exclusivity contained in the contracts with equensWorldline (a European payment processor) with specific reference to domestic processing and non-Sepa clearing services (Single Euro Payments Area, of unit payments in euros), in the preparation, by Nexi and Sia, up to the date on which the new Bancomat platform will become operational, of a non-discriminatory, clear and transparent offer relating to the acquiring processing and issuing processing of home cards.
Nexi and Sia are also requested to prepare, for a period of three years, a clear and transparent offer relating to the clearing of non-Sepa products and the sale of non-Sepa clearing contracts currently signed by Nexi with client banks.
The set of measures “aims – explains the Antitrust in a note – to guarantee potential new entrants the possibility of operating effectively on a commercial level and to prevent discrimination. The measures take into account the fact that both markets are await – in a relatively short period – important changes that will determine a different competitive structure “.