CAT Judgment upholds CMA findings

The Competition Appeal Tribunal has upheld the CMA's decision requiring Ecolab to divest Holchem Laboratories following the CMA's finding that the merger raised competition concerns in the UK cleaning chemicals industry.

The Tribunal rejected all of Ecolab's grounds of challenge and upheld the CMA's conclusions in full. The judgment confirms that the CMA may reject an alternative remedy proposed by merging parties where it does not have a high degree of confidence that the remedy will be effective. Ecolab must now proceed with the sale of Holchem Laboratories to a CMA-approved purchaser.

DT Economics Managing Partner David Thomas was a member of the original CMA inquiry group. Further details are available on the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s website.