Legislation, Lithuania, Markets and Companies, Retail

"Our strategy now is to resume all frozen projects as soon as possible, to gain momentum and continue to grow in the Lithuanian market," Palink CEO Gerard Rog said in an interview with the business daily Verslo Zinios. 

"As to the sale, I can say that we currently sell all the goods we have on the shelves, but no longer the company itself," he added. 

Rog said he did "not know honestly" the exact reason why the Lithuanian competition watchdog did not give the green light for finalizing the deal with Rimi. 

"We did all the homework, we did our best, but we failed to convince someone to give us permission to merge," he said. 

The Lithuanian Competition Council in April blocked Rimi Lietuva's 213-million-euro acquisition of Iki, saying that the former chain had failed to divest 17 stores within half a year, a condition for finalizing the deal.

Sweden's ICA Gruppen, the owner of Rimi, said it planned to continue to expand in the Lithuanian market after the failed deal.

Germany's retail giant Rewe is Palink's majority shareholder with a 55.58 percent stake. Other shareholders include Switzerland's Coop with 24.9 percent, Belgium's Eln. Fr. Colruyt with 13.12 percent and France's Unilec with 6.25 percent.