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Valloni / News  / HUNTING AND SPORT SHOOTING: THE FRENCH COMPETITION AUTHORITY UNCONDITIONALLY CLEARS THE MERGER BETWEEN THE FN BROWNING GROUP AND SOFISPORT
19 August 2025

HUNTING AND SPORT SHOOTING: THE FRENCH COMPETITION AUTHORITY UNCONDITIONALLY CLEARS THE MERGER BETWEEN THE FN BROWNING GROUP AND SOFISPORT

In its Decision 25-DCC-172 of 25 July 2025, the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la concurrence) (the Authority) announced in an official Press Release that it had unconditionally cleared the acquisition of exclusive control of Sofisport by the FN Browning Group (FNBG).

FNBG, a Belgian group, specialises in the manufacture and distribution of firearms and ammunition for the armed forces and law enforcement agencies, as well as metallic ammunition for big game hunting and sport shooting.

Sofisport, a French company, is a key player in the manufacture of cartridges for hunting and sport shooting, producing both white-label cartridges for competitors and its own branded cartridges. It also manufactures and supplies cartridge components and, as a secondary activity, distributes firearms and ammunition.

This case marks the first time that the Authority has reviewed the civilian ammunition and firearms sector under the French Merger Control Rules, which comprise articles L.430-1 to L.430-10 and R.430-1 to R.430-10 of the French Commercial Code and the Merger Control Guidelines of 23 July 2020.

The Authority defined the relevant markets as covering the manufacture of white-label cartridges and the wholesale distribution of branded cartridges, metallic ammunition, and firearms (rifles, shotguns, handguns).

Following a market investigation, the Authority ruled out any risks to competition:

  • Horizontal overlapswere minimal, with the FNBG additional market share being deemed insignificant.
  • Vertical foreclosure riskswere excluded, as competitors remain able to source cartridges from other international suppliers.
  • Conglomerate effects(bundling firearms and ammunition) were dismissed due to standardised calibres and independent consumer behaviour.

The transaction, therefore, was cleared without any conditions.

This decision illustrates that merger control applies across all segments of the sports ecosystem, including niche markets, such as hunting and sport shooting. Both EU and national competition authorities continue to scrutinise even smaller-scale transactions in order to safeguard competition.

Such operations, even when involving specialised markets, can raise complex legal and economic questions requiring careful assessment from a competition law point of view.

Our law firm combines expertise in EU competition law and sports regulation to assist clients in anticipating risks, navigating merger control procedures which can be quite complex, and ensuring compliance in this evolving regulatory landscape. For further information email the Head of our French Law Practice, Dr Estelle Ivanova, at ivanova@valloni.ch.

 

 

 

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