Continence acquisition springs a leak
Competition minister Melanie Johnson says the acquisition of an SSL International subsidiary by Danish healthcare company Coloplast infringes UK competition laws.
Competition minister Melanie Johnson says the acquisition of an SSL International subsidiary by Danish healthcare company Coloplast infringes UK competition laws.
Coloplast submitted its proposal to acquire SSL’s continence care business to the UK’s competition authorities last May.
The acquisition took place on 29 September 2001 but concerns were raised about the loss of competition in the continence care products market. Investigations on the acquisition by the Competition Commission began in January 2002.
The investigation found the acquisition of the SSL business would increase Coloplast’s share of the market from 34% to 92% and the acquirer would gain the right to be the exclusive UK distributor until 2007 of products supplied by the Mentor Corporation of the USA.
Johnson confirmed the findings of the CC that the acquisition in its present form ‘operated against the public interest’.
She said Coloplast should renegotiate the completed acquisition with Mentor to amend their agreement to secure either divestment of Coloplast’s incontinence brand, or divestment of the brand and product, within six months.
In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...
View resourceIn recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...
View resourceIn a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...
View resourceThe first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...
View resourceThis regulatory update aims to simplify the reporting process, reduce administrative burdens, increase accuracy, and provide real-time reporting capab...
View articleTechnology could enable this by allowing teams to 'speak the same language' Read More...
View articleBegbies Traynor had a strong first half to its year, buoyed by increased revenue and a number of acquisitions Read More...
View articleRicky Shankar, Chairman of Clear Factor, explains how his own experience with banks led to the creation of Clear Factor - a decentralised global invoi...
View articleLooking at spending patterns of more than 1000 Spendesk users in 35 European countries, making 800,000 transactions totalling over €120million, the ‘S...
View articleWith Accounts Payable fraud on the rise Ian Smith, Finance Director and GM at Invu, looks at whether technology can save businesses from a brewing cri...
View articleBoris Johnson has proposed to raise the 40p tax from £50,000 to £80,000 in his bid to become the next Tory leader – and the accountancy industry...
View articleNew research quantifies the extent of Companies House inaccuracy as the ICAEW urges the Treasury and BEIS to shore up defences Read More...
View article