Competition and Consumer Protection Commission M&A Update (1 January -31 August 2018)

Key highlights

  • As of now, there are 72 M&A deals notified to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission in January-August 2018.
  • There were 49 notifications in the same period in 2017. That is an increase of 47% YOY.
  • Indeed, there had been 72 for the whole of 2017.
  • Many of the deals this year involve small businesses with €3m+ turnover because there is more activity in that sector this year.
  • Property deals are significant.
  • Various sectors represented with few standouts – insurance, retail, support services, property, energy and others all represented.
  • Simple deals are moving through the CCPC quickly but there are more conditional approvals with commitments being given in more "interesting" deals.
  • Gun-jumping (implementing deals before approval) is a growing theme and the CCPC are investigating this more as an possible issue.
  • CCPC looking not just at merger control issues but also competition and consumer protection ones too.

What was notified to the CCPC between 1 January and 31 August 2018?

M/18/072 - Petrogas/Glenview Motors
M/18/071 - House of Fraser (Dundrum)/Sports Direct
M/18/070 - Cooperatief H2/Primacy Healthcare 21 (Aquilant)

M/18/069 - MCR/Securway At Risk
M/18/068 - Blackstone/Taskus
M/18/067 - LN Gaiety/MCD Productions
M/18/066 - EQT/SUSE
M/18/065 - Rhenus/Avant Air and Sea
M/18/064 - Cover-More Australia (Zurich)/Blue Insurance
M/18/063 - Berendsen (Elis)/Kings Laundry
M/18/062 - Vermilion Oil & Gas/SEPIL (Shell)
M/18/061 - Canada Pension Plan Investment Board/Shell E&P Ireland
M/18/060 - Designer Group Engineering/Lenmac Mechanical Services
 
M/18/059 - Canadian Pension Plan/Koerl/Sportradar
M/18/058 - KWPRS ICAV/Grange Stillorgan Road
M/18/057 - Endless LLP/Menzies Distribution Limited
M/18/056 - TOP/Garrycastle (Spar) Athlone
M/18/055 - DTZ Worldwide Limited/Sherry FitzGerald (Commercial)
M/18/054 - Cedarglade (Musgrave)/Supermarket Premises at Fortunestown
M/18/053 - Pandagreen/Knockharley Landfill and Natureford
M/18/052 - Carlyle (Sam McCauley)/Nolan’s Pharmacy
M/18/051 - Swan Bidco/Meadow Foods
M/18/050 - BWG/Keating’s Londis (Newtown Cobh)
 
M/18/049 - InfraVia/MP Healthcare
M/18/048 - Atlantic Troy( Supermac’s)/Athlone Springs Hotel
M/18/047 - Cube Transportation (ISQ)/TIP Holdings
M/18/046 - Liberty Global/PBN (Casey Cable)
M/18/045 - CDC/Netgem/VITIS (JV)
M/18/044 - CDC/Netgem/Reunicable (the Oceinde Group) / VITIS (JV)
M/18/043 - IPUT plc/Deloitte House
M/18/042 - Oaktree & Alanis Capital/Lioncor (JV)
M/18/041 - NS Norway Holding AS (Oceanwood) / Norske Skog AS
M/018/040 - Novolex (Carlyle) / Waddington
 
M/18/039 - Brookfield/Imagine
M/18/038 - Stars Group/Sky Betting (Cyan Blue)
M/18/037 - SCIF Hotels/Connemara Coast Hotel
M/18/036 - Enva/Rilta
M/18/035 - Irish Life/Invesco
M/18/034 - Big Bus Tours/Irish City Tours
M/18/033 - Johnson & Perrott/National Truck Rental
M/18/032 - Phoenix/SLAL
M/18/031 - Uniphar/SISK Healthcare
M/18/030 - Avantcard/Tesco Bank
 
M/18/029 - Givaudan S.A./Naturex S.A.
M/18/028 - Ecocem Materials/ArcelorMittal/Ecocem France
M/18/027 - SSE Airtricity/Marron Activ8
M/18/026 - Brookfield/LCH
M/18/025 - Kennedy-Wilson/Elysian Building, Cork
M/18/024 - Lloyds Pharmacy/McSweeney Group
M/18/023 - Petrogas (Applegreen)/Service Station at Carranstown, Duleek
M/18/022 - Carlyle/Fermoy Medical Hall
M/18/021 - Worldwide Flight Services Holding/Worldwide Flight Services Ireland
M/18/020 - Armalou-Spirit Ford/Lillis O’Donnell
 
M/18/019 - JDM Automotive/Motorpark
M/18/018 - SHS Group Limited/3V Natural Foods Limited
M/18/017 - Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics/Micro Hydraulics
M/18/016 - Trinity Mirror/Northern & Shell
M/18/015 - Eurazeo/Idinvest
M/18/014 - Discovery Travel (MML)/The Travel Department
M/18/013 - SS&C Technologies/DST
M/18/012 - North Cork/Feale Bridge and Headley Bridge
M/18/011 - Anchorage/Ideal Standard
M/18/010 - SCIF/McWilliam Park Hotel
 
M/18/009 - BWG Foods/4 Aces
M/18/008 - Daimler/Intelligent Apps (mytaxi)
M/18/007 - BoyleSports/JP Bookmakers
M/18/006 - Valero Energy (Ireland)/Riverside Service Station
M/18/005 - Thorntons/A Plus
M/18/004 - Maxol/Brennans
M/18/003 - LCCGI/Generali Paneurope DAC
M/18/002 - Friends First/Aviva
M/18/001 - CMNL/North Dublin Publications

For further information, contact Dr Vincent Power or any member of A&L Goodbody’s EU, Competition & Procurement team.

Date published: 17 September 2018