Iconex, Schades and R+S abandon merger

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Iconex, Schades and R+S have abandoned their proposed merger after the British watchdog CMA raised competition concerns.

US-based thermal paper and roll suppliers Iconex agreed to purchase two rival businesses, Schades and R+S, from Hansol Paper and Mirae Asset Daewoo Hunters Private Equity Fund in November 2018.

Although the EU competition authority already approved the merger, the British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that the merger could lead to insufficient competition in receipt rolls in the UK, as Iconex and Schades are two of the UK’s largest suppliers of receipt rolls and compete very closely with each other. The CMA was concerned that the merger could result in less choice and higher prices for UK customers.

At this stage of the investigation the businesses had the opportunity to offer a solution to address the CMA’s competition concerns by 17 June, or to proceed to an in-depth Phase 2 investigation. However, the businesses have chosen to abandon the merger.

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