Russia: Avito purchase petition rejected by FAS

On 6 October 2021, the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has refused to approve a petition submitted by Avito, Russia's largest classified advertisements website, to purchase two companies that manage several online advertisement websites, including Russia's largest online real estate marketplace CIAN. The FAS determined that a merger of Avito and CIAN would lead to the formation of a dominant entity occupying more than 50% of the market, which could have restrictive effects on competition.