In 2012, the CC fined Forum Cinemas a fine of LVL 30,993 (EUR 44,100) for abusing a dominant position in order to gain a competitive advantage in the cinema distribution market.
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In the film distribution market monitoring report published this week, KP points out that the competitive conditions in the market have changed since 2012 and Forum Cinemas is no longer a clear market leader, as a new cinema has entered the market – SIA “Apollo Kino”, which has started operating in 2019 and has already become a relatively important competitor to other Riga cinemas.
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“Multikino has ceased operations in Latvia. Publicly available information indicates that the lease will be taken over by Apollo, which could be considered a significant competitor of Forum Cinemas. Therefore, it may further affect the structure of competition. market, reducing Forum Cinemas’ market power, “said KP.
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The Competition Authority also acknowledged that the information obtained from the monitoring confirms that the consumer is switching to new cinemas, thus allowing new entrants to the film screening market to attract new consumers through marketing and to compete with Forum Cinemas and / or other market players.
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Forum Cinemas is owned by the Finnish group Finnkino Group, part of the US cinema network AMC. The US holding shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and AMC is the largest cinema group in the United States. The majority of AMC shares belong to the Chinese investment company “Wanda Group”.
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Apollo Kino is one of the Latvian subsidiaries of the Estonian company Apollo Group. Apollo Kino is the largest cinema chain in Estonia with nine cinemas. Currently, Apollo Kino has cinemas in Tallinn, Pärnu, Tartu, Narva and Saaremaa (Estonia), Panevezys (Lithuania) and Riga.
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The controlling stake in Apollo Group belongs to the holding company UP Invest, an Estonian businessman Margus Linnamäe. UP Invest owns a wide portfolio of companies, including information agencies LETA in Latvia, BNS in Estonia and Lithuania, as well as the Latvian portal TvNet.
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