Lithuania’s Competition Council has ordered Estonian investment company MM Grupp to restore the previous market structure or sell one of its two cinemas in Vilnius, ruling that the 2021 acquisition significantly restricted competition in the capital and reduced consumer choice.
The Bottom Line
- MM Grupp must sell either its Apollo Kinas at Akropolis or its Apollo cinema at Outlet within six months, or fully restore the previous market structure.
- The Competition Council found that the acquisition pushed MM Grupp’s Vilnius market share above 50% by eliminating its strongest direct competitor.
- The company faces a separate, earlier fine of nearly 7.5 million euros for integrating the Forum Cinemas network without prior regulatory approval.
The Acquisition of Forum Cinemas Lithuania and Market Concentration
The regulatory action stems from an indirect acquisition that concluded in late 2021. Following 18 months of negotiations with Odeon Cinemas Group, MM Grupp took control of the cinema formerly operated by Forum Cinemas Lithuania inside the Vilnius Akropolis shopping center. The company subsequently rebranded the venue as Apollo Kinas in February 2022, folding it into the broader Apollo cinema chain.
According to LRT, the Competition Council determined that the transaction removed the single strongest rival to MM Grupp’s existing operations in the capital. The regulatory body noted that the Akropolis and Outlet locations had previously competed directly against each other on ticket pricing, movie selections, screening schedules, and overall service quality. As a consequence of the buyout, MM Grupp’s share of the local cinema market climbed past 50%.
“The loss of Forum Cinemas in Vilnius Akropolis significantly reduced consumers’ choices and competitive pressure,” Competition Council Chairwoman Jolanta Ivanauskienė stated, as reported by LRT.
Inadequate Remedies and the Six-Month Deadline
To address antitrust concerns during the regulatory review, MM Grupp proposed transferring just one of the six screens at its Outlet cinema location to an independent operator. However, the Competition Council rejected the proposal, concluding that a partial screen transfer was insufficient to restore the lost competitive pressure in the capital.
Under the formal ruling, MM Grupp is required to either sell one of its two Vilnius shopping center cinemas or completely restore the previous market structure within six months. The exact terms of this remedy must be formally agreed upon with the Competition Council. The current decision remains subject to an appeal at the Regional Administrative Court.
The 7.5 Million Euro Penalty and Pending Court Battles
The structural order follows a financial penalty levied against the Estonian group last year. The Competition Council fined MM Grupp nearly 7.5 million euros for acquiring control of Forum Cinemas Lithuania in April 2021 without securing prior regulatory approval and subsequently integrating the Vilnius and Kaunas venues into the Apollo network.
MM Grupp filed an appeal against that multi-million-euro fine in December. Court records indicate that no hearing date has been scheduled yet for the ongoing legal challenge regarding the unauthorized transaction.
