Merger Update: Eville & Jones/Vorenta

CMA invites comments on merger remedy:

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened a consultation on undertakings in lieu of reference offered by Eville & Jones (Group) Limited (E&J) to address competition concerns identified by the CMA over its completed acquisition of Vorenta Ltd (and all its subsidiaries, including Hall Mark Meat Hygiene Limited and Meat and Livestock Commercial Services Ltd, together Vorenta) (the Merger).

On 6 March 2023, the CMA announced that it would refer the Merger for an in-depth, Phase 2 investigation unless E&J offered acceptable undertakings in lieu to address the CMA's concerns.

To address the CMA's concerns, E&J has offered to divest Vorenta to a management buy-out group comprised of some members of the current Vorenta senior management team who will create a new company to purchase Vorenta.

On 20 March 2023, the CMA announced that it would look in detail at these offered undertakings in lieu. The CMA has until 19 May 2023 to consider whether to accept the undertakings in lieu, or a modified version of them. As part of this process, the CMA is now consulting publicly on whether the proposal is sufficient to address the competition concerns identified by the CMA.

Before reaching a final decision, the CMA is therefore inviting interested parties to make their views known. The deadline for responses is 26 April 2023.

The consultation on the offered undertakings in lieu and all other information relating to this merger investigation can be found on the dedicated case page on the CMA's website at https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases.