Medivet/multiple independent veterinary businesses

CMA to look at Medivet's undertakings offer in detail

Completed acquisitions by Medivet Group Limited (Medivet) of seventeen independent veterinary businesses

On 2 June 2023, the CMA announced that it is or may be the case that each of the following Mergers has resulted or may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition within a market or markets in the United Kingdom. Namely, Medivet's acquisitions of:

(a)   All Creatures Clinic Limited (All Creatures);

(b)   Barton Companion Animal Services Limited (Barton);

(c)   I T Kalogera (Holdings) Limited, including its subsidiary I T Kalogera Limited (t/a Brockwell Vets) (Brockwell Vets);

(d)   The assets and business of the veterinary practice under the name 'Caddy Veterinary Surgery/Practice' (Caddy Country);

(e)   E Street Limited (t/a Elizabeth Street Veterinary Clinic) (Elizabeth Street);

(f)    Ferring Street Vets Limited (Ferring Street);

(g)   Fitzalan House Veterinary Practice Limited (Fitzalan House);

(h)   The Hackney Vet Ltd (The Hackney Vet);

(i)    The assets and business of the veterinary practice under the name Iffley Vets (Iffley Vets);

(j)    The Oxford Cat Clinic Limited (Oxford Cat Clinic);

(k)   The assets and businesses of the veterinary practices under the name The Vet on Richmond Hill & The Vet in St Margaret's (The Vet on Richmond Hill & St Margaret's); and

(l)    The Vet Station Limited (The Vet Station).

On 25 May 2023, Medivet Group Limited, Hecate Holdco Limited (UK), CVC Capital Partners VIII (A) L.P., CVC Capital Partners VIII Associates L.P. and CVC Capital Partners Investment Europe VIII L.P., being funds managed by CVC Capital Partners VIII Limited (CVC Capital) (together, the Acquirer Group) offered undertakings to the CMA. The CMA has considered the undertakings offered and today announced that it considers that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the undertakings offered in relation to each of the acquisitions under investigation, or a modified version of them, might be accepted by the CMA to remedy the substantial lessening of competition identified by the CMA in these cases.

The CMA now has until 28 July 2023 to decide whether to accept the undertaking, with the possibility to extend this timeframe to 25 September 2023 if it considers there are special reasons for doing so.

The text of this decision will be placed on the Competition and Markets Authority's website at https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases as soon as is reasonably practical.

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