PCC okays Robinsons Supermarket's acquisition of Premiumbikes

The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has cleared Robinsons Supermarket Corp.'s acquisition of Premiumbikes Corp., which carries motorcycle, spare parts, and related accessories at wholesale and retail in over 200 branches across the country.

In an advisory released Tuesday, the antitrust watchdog said it found that the proposed transaction is unlikely to result in a substantial lessening of competition in each of the identified relevant markets.

"The merged entity's ability or incentive to unilaterally exercise their market power to negatively impact competition in any of the relevant markets is limited both by the fact that the parties hold limited market share in the relevant markets and there are still numerous competitors present," the PCC said.

According to the PCC, it considered information collected from the parties and inputs from sector stakeholders, including regulators, competitors, and trade groups in its review of the transaction.

Further details on the value and timeline of the transaction were not immediately available.

Robinsons Supermarket, under the Gokongwei Group, operates under several brands including Robinsons Supermarket, Robinsons Easymart, Robinsons Department Store, Shopwise, The Marketplace, and Uncle John's.

It also counts Robinsons Handyman, which operates Handyman Do It Best and True Value, as its subsidiary.

Premiumbikes, meanwhile, is engaged in buying, selling, distributing, marketing, and promoting motorcycles, carrying units from Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, TVS, and Kymco.

Under the Philippine Competition Act (PCA), the PCC is mandated to review mergers and acquisitions to ensure that such deals do not harm the interest of consumers. — VDV, GMA Integrated News