On November 20, 2025, the Hellenic Competition Commission, in plenary session, by its decision no. 895/2025, unanimously approved the acquisition of sole control by A. & Ch. Yfantis S.A. (YFANTIS) over Panagiotis G. Nikas Single-Member S.A. (NIKAS), pursuant to Article 8(3) of Law 3959/2011. The concentration concerns the markets of processed meat for cold consumption (cold cuts), in which NIKAS and YFANTIS are competitors. These markets are mainly distinguished by type of meat (poultry, pork, beef) and by distribution channel. The products are produced and distributed both in the retail market and in mass catering throughout Greece. The investigation of the Competition Commission showed that the cold cuts sector in Greece relies mainly on domestic raw materials, presents high volatility with enterprises able to produce and distribute almost all types of cold cuts, and is composed of many small and medium-sized companies compared to a few large industries.
The effects of the concentration were examined for each relevant market based on data provided by the acquiring company, competitors in the cold cuts sector, supermarkets that sell the products to consumers, as well as previous decisions from Greek and European case law in the field of cold cuts and food and related sectoral studies. The most important factors of market structure were evaluated, such as the asymmetry and volatility of market shares, the absence of entry barriers in the cold cuts market, the lack of legal and structural ties among participants, and the significant bargaining power of supermarkets, especially in private label cold cuts. All these factors offset the competitive power of cold cut suppliers and the effects of the concentration under examination.
Furthermore, in the retail market of poultry cold cuts, the new entity will have a combined market share of 30–40%. However, there is already at least one significant competitor with approximately the same share. In recent years, intense competition among companies in the examined market has led to fluctuations in market shares, with some competitors expanding their activities and others shrinking, while private label products exert significant competitive pressure on branded products.
In the retail market of pork cold cuts, the new entity will have a combined market share of over 20–30%, but the increment from the acquired company is not significant. Moreover, there is an equally important competitor in the market, and private label products overall occupy the leading position.
In other relevant markets, such as beef cold cuts or sausages distributed in the retail market, the new entity will either fall below the threshold of an affected market share or the increment in market share will be below 5% and not significant. Additionally, in the markets of cold cuts distributed in mass catering, no significant effects on competition are expected, with the impact of the concentration on market shares being similar to those in retail distribution.
Considering the overall findings of the investigation, it is concluded that the implementation of the concentration under review is not expected to create competition problems in any of the examined relevant cold cuts markets, whether by type of meat or by type of product, nor to create or strengthen a dominant position of the new entity.
Informal press release for information purposes only, non-binding on the Hellenic Competition Commission.
The full text of the Decision shall be published in the Government Gazette and posted on the HCC website https://www.epant.gr/en/.