Poland blocks CEDC purchase of local vodka maker

Poland's anti-monopoly office on Wednesday blocked Central European Distribution Corp's (CEDC) plan to take over a local vodka maker and strengthen its position in the Polish market, the office said in a statement.

CEDC, based in the U.S. and listed on Nasdaq, owns two local vodka makers Polmos Bialystok and Bols, and planned to take control of peer Polmos Lublin through a purchase of Polish firm Jablonna, which holds a controlling stake.

"As a leading spirits distributor and producer in Poland, CEDC could gain too strong a position in the local market on the back of this acquisition," the statement said.

The anti-monopoly office said that by taking over Polmos Lublin, the owner of Zoladkowa Gorzka flavoured vodka brand, CEDC would see its Polish market share to rise to far above 40 percent, potentially threatening competition in the industry.

Last year CEDC bought a majority stake in Polmos Bialystok -- the owner of the Zubrowka (Bison Grass) vodka brand and the country's second-largest vodka maker.

Bialystok controls about a fifth of the local market -- the world's fourth largest after Russia, the United States and Ukraine -- while Bols has around 11 percent of the market.

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