Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service warns of possible restriction of competition in case of merger of kicksharing services Whoosh, Urent

MOSCOW. Jan 28 (Interfax) - The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has warned of a possible restriction of competition in the kicksharing market in the event of a merger of the projects of PJSC WHOOSH Holding and UrentBike.ru.

The regulator issued a "statement of circumstances on the petitions" of the companies, the FAS said.

"These transactions will lead to a restriction of competition in the kicksharing (scooter rental) market, an increase in the market power of the group of individuals of PJSC WHOOSH Holding and a reduction in the number of companies in the commodity rental market. It will also give the merged company the opportunity to unilaterally determine pricing policy, which could lead to negative consequences for consumers and users of the service. The established circumstances constitute grounds, among other things, for refusing to approve the transaction," the FAS said.

The press services of PJSC MTS , which owns the ecosystem holding Erion whose portfolio includes the Urent project, and Whoosh declined to comment.

The shares of WHOOSH Holding, which were up 2%-3% in the first half of trading on Wednesday, moved into negative territory in the middle of the trading session and as of 16:17 Moscow time are down 2.2% from the previous day's close (falling to 94.39 rubles per share) following the warning from the FAS.