Pergaminhoflash argues that VASP should be excluded from the newspaper distribution tender in Portugal for violating competition rules. According to the competing company, VASP's proposal declares the existence of exclusivity contracts with publishers, which violates binding commitments made to the Competition Authority under the authorization process of the concentration operation that allowed VASP to continue operating in the market. The exclusion of exclusivity agreements was one of the conditions to which VASP committed to obtain authorization, the compliance of which is subject to monitoring by an independent trustee approved by the AdC.
In June, the Government launched an international public tender of three million euros to ensure the daily distribution of paper newspapers in low-density territories over the next three years. The preliminary result awarded VASP, the current national distributor, the distribution in the two lots corresponding to the North and South regions, with a financial proposal significantly below the estimated price. The difference between the proposals, according to Pergaminhoflash, lies in the price, with VASP's values corresponding to discounts of exactly 30% and 20% on the base prices of the two lots, which reveals, in the company's view, manipulation in the price formation.
Pergaminhoflash also argues that VASP's proposal includes locations that cannot be considered points of sale, emphasizing that the specifications require each point to operate at least 300 days per year. The company also highlights that the jury's preliminary report proposes awarding both lots to VASP, despite a clause in the programme establishing that only one lot can be awarded to each competitor. According to the company's calculations, based on the award criteria, one of the lots would be awarded to Pergaminho.
VASP became 100% owned by Marco Galinha in 2024 and has operated alone in the newspaper distribution business since 2017, when Distrinews entered insolvency. Pergaminhoflash was established in June by José Manuel Rogeira de Jesus, owner of Parsoc and FEPI, to respond to the tender launched by the Government, with Rui Marques dos Santos as general manager.
