Merger Update - Copart / Hills Motors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 12h00 FRIDAY 23 JUNE 2023

New evidence changes vehicle salvage merger assessment

CMA provisionally clears Copart's completed purchase of Hills Motors following new evidence

New evidence gathered by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) following its provisional findings has now led it to provisionally conclude that the deal would not lead to competition concerns.

In May 2023, an independent CMA panel provisionally found that allowing Copart to purchase Hills Motors has resulted or may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition in the market for the supply of salvage services in the UK.

Copart is currently the market leader by a significant distance and faces few competitors for large national salvage contracts for insurance companies. Hills Motors, which has an in-house dismantling service and is an important supplier of recycled parts, is one of the small number of players that have been invited to compete against Copart for such contracts.

In its original provisional findings, the CMA panel had taken account of evidence indicating that Hills Motors was considered a credible alternative to Copart by some customers for such contracts. However, since publication of its original provisional findings, the CMA obtained new evidence from customers suggesting that the role that Hills Motors plays in the market is less significant. Having tested this new evidence thoroughly, the CMA now considers that the constraint exercised by Hills Motors is materially weaker than it previously believed, and that the merger does not give rise to competition concerns in the supply of salvage services.

As competition concerns in other services (the supply of damaged and other used vehicles or the supply of recycled parts in the UK) were provisionally dismissed in the original provisional findings, the CMA has now provisionally concluded that the deal should be cleared.

Kirstin Baker, chair of the independent panel of experts conducting the Phase 2 investigation, said:

"We've gathered new evidence which means we no longer consider that this deal raises competition concerns in the vehicle salvage sector.

"We conduct these thorough investigations to fully understand issues affecting competition in that market. The purpose of the provisional findings stage is to gather responses and review the evidence before we make a final decision.

"In some cases, new evidence comes to light which causes us to change our mind as we have done here."

For more information, visit the Copart / Hills Motors case page.

-ENDS-

NOTES TO EDITORS

1.   'Copart' refers to Copart, Inc. and 'Hills Motors' refers to Green Parts Specialist Holdings Ltd.

2.   Copart and Hills Motors both supply vehicle salvage services. This involves collecting damaged and other used vehicles on behalf of customers - including insurance companies, finance companies and rental car companies - and remarketing them for sale via online auction or, in some cases, managing their dismantling or scrapping. Hills Motors is active in vehicle dismantling whereas Copart is not.

3.   Interested parties have until 17h00 Friday 30 June to comment on the addendum provisional findings before a final decision is made by the independent panel of experts.

4.   The Copart / Hills Motors deal was referred to a phase 2 investigation in December 2022.

5.   All media enquiries should be directed to the CMA press office by email on [email protected], or by phone on 020 3738 6460.