CMA blocks third merger in a year

CMA blocks third merger in a year

The CMA has issued is final report on the completed acquisition of GBST Holdings Limited (GBST) by FNZ (Australia) Bidco Pty Ltd (FNZ).

It finds that FNZ and GBST, two of the four largest suppliers in the supply of retail platform solutions would account for almost 50% of the market.

Market constraints are generally weak with high switching costs, limiting any buyer power.

The CMA has concluded that requiring FNZ to sell the entire GBST business is the only solution that will properly address the loss of competition resulting from the merger.

The decision is the CMA’s third merger prohibition this year. In April, it blocked Sabre’s USD360 million (EUR304.2 million) takeover of airline ticketing software rival Farelogix. A month later, it mandated JD Sports to divest Footasylum.

While merger parties are entitled to complete their merger’s without seeking CMA approval, these cases are a reminder that this is not without risk in cases which raise serious competition issues.

https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/fnz-gbst-merger-inquiry?utm_source=f4cf4e07-ae36-4395-ac2c-30106a5ebaa8&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate