Operator News
Chile – National competition authority investigates Enjoy and Dreams merger
By Phil - 16 June 2022
Chile’s National Competition Authority (FNE) has put the merger between Enjoy and Dreams on hold. The FNE said that in order to investigate its effects on the market that it would need a further 90 days to investigate and analyze the merger. The FNE said that the investigation had begun on May 3 2022 after initially finding that the merger could possibly reduce competition in the market and have a negative effect on consumers as well as other casino operators.
In a statement the FNE said that it had preliminarily concluded that the new operation “could generate some risks of a unilateral nature, both exploitative to consumers and exclusionary of other casino operators, as well as coordinated risks between market operators, by providing the merged entity with the ability and incentives to reduce the quality of certain competitive variables in gaming services.”
Consequently the Chilean antitrust agency determined to extend its analysis for up to an additional 90 business days arguing that should the merger go ahead “it could substantially reduce competition.”
The FNE detailed, in turn, that the investigation process had began on May 3, 2022, “with the aim of analyzing the effects of the merger on free competition in the markets related to the operation of casinos.” They further announced that their work had focused on the risks associated with the awarding of future casino licences as well as competition within the industry.
The FNE said that any third party that had an interest in the merger operation between Enjoy and Dreams, whether they were suppliers, competitors, or customers, could come forward with background information for the investigation within 20 business days.
In January Enjoy S.A and Dreams S.A – the two largest casino operators in Chile – announced that they had finalised their agreement to merge the two companies. In a presentation to shareholders the firm highlighted that the merged company -which will be called “Dreams Enjoy SA,”- would consolidate itself as a leader in the casino industry in Latin America, with a presence in Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Argentina, Colombia and Panama. If approved Enjoy will be the legal surviving entity. Dreams’ shareholders will receive approximately 64 per cent of the merged company, while Enjoy’s shareholders will retain the remaining 36 per cent.
