CC clears roofline products merger
13 Nov 2012
The Competition Commission (CC) has formally cleared the completed acquisition by Epwin Holdings Limited (Epwin) of Building Plastics Holdings Limited, CET Glass Processors Holdings Limited and Latium Building Products Holdings Limited (Latium).
This confirms the CC’s provisional findings on the merger, which were published last month.
The companies supply a wide range of PVC building products and the inquiry looked closely at the overlap between Epwin and Latium in the supply of PVC roofline and window-trim products, used in the construction of new houses and refurbishment of existing properties.
In its final report published today, the CC said that it is relatively simple for customers to switch between suppliers and that competing suppliers have enough spare capacity to respond if large numbers of customers want to switch away from the merged company.
The CC is required to publish its final report by 2 December 2012.
Notes for editors
1. The CC is an independent public body, which carries out investigations into mergers, markets and the regulated industries.
2. The members of the Epwin/Latium Inquiry Group are: Simon Polito (Chairman of the Group and CC Deputy Chairman), Richard Farrant, John Smith and Professor Sudi Sudarsanam.
3. The Enterprise Act 2002 empowers the Office of Fair Trading to refer to the CC completed or proposed mergers for investigation and report which create or enhance a 25 per cent share of supply in the UK (or a substantial part thereof) or where the UK turnover associated with the enterprise being acquired is over £70 million.
4. The CC has a 24-week period in which it is required to publish its report, which may be extended by no more than eight weeks if it considers that there are special reasons why the report cannot be published within that period.
5. Further information on this inquiry, including the terms of reference and other key documents, as well as on the CC and its procedures, including its policy on the provision of information and the disclosure of evidence, can be obtained from the CC website at: www.competition-commission.org.uk.
6. Enquiries should be directed to Rory Taylor or Siobhan Allen or by ringing 020 7271 0242.
