The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA) approved on 20 October 2017 Attendo Intressenter AB’s acquisition of Mi-Hoiva Oy. Based on the FCCA’s investigations, the acquisition will not significantly impede competition in the Finnish market.
Attendo and Mi-Hoiva operate in the social services market, offering social services to the elderly, and rehabilitation and housing services to people undergoing mental health and drug and alcohol rehabilitation and to mentally disabled persons.
Attendo is part of the Swedish Attendo Group AB. Mi-Hoiva’s operations are run by its subsidiary Mikeva Oy.
The FCCA decided to commence further proceedings concerning the transaction between Attendo and Mi-Hoiva in July 2017, as its preliminary investigations suggested that the acquisition could have adverse impacts on competition in the social welfare service market.
The FCCA studied the effects of the acquisition especially with regard to enhanced sheltered housing to the elderly, to people undergoing mental health and drug and alcohol rehabilitation and to mentally disabled persons, in which the parties had overlapping operations. It could not be shown that the parties to the acquisition were particularly close competitors in the markets in question.
There will also be enough competition left in the social welfare service market even after the acquisition. Although chains have established in the sector, there are still many local and regional actors in the market, and also larger companies that create competition in the market.
FCCA’s decision includes business secrets of the parties involved. The decision cannot be published until the business secrets have been removed, i.e. in around two weeks’ time.
According to the Competition Act, the FCCA must be notified of the transaction if the combined turnover of the parties to the corporate transaction exceeds 350 million euros and the turnover of at least two of the parties resulting from Finland exceeds 20 million euros for both. FCCA approves a corporate transaction if it has no harmful impacts referred to in the Competition Act. FCCA will intervene in corporate transactions if its investigations suggest that the acquisition substantially impedes effective competition on Finnish markets or a substantial part of the markets, particularly through the creation or reinforcement of a dominant market position.