Pronto is the largest franchisee of Carrefour in Romania, operating 15 units under the Pronto-Carrefour Express brand, but only ten units were acquired by Profi.
Profi owns over 1,400 small format stores in Romania.
“This operation poses no significant obstacles in terms of actual competition on the Romanian market, or on a significant part of it and there is no serious doubt regarding its compatibility with the normal competitive environment”, the watchdog said in a statement.
Carrefour launched the “express” franchise in Romania nearly a decade ago, and its Express units are convenience stores. Early 2021, Romania had 108 Carrefour convenience stores, per the group’s annual report, which did not say whether all the units are operated by partners or also by giant Carrefour.