UK: CMA orders European Metal Recycling to divest five sites in merger

European Metal Recycling (EMR) has been instructed to sell five of the sites it bought from Metal Waste Recycling (MWR) in a bid to alleviate concerns raised by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) arising from the takeover.

EMR bought the MWR last year, but earlier this year the competition watchdog expressed concerns that the deal could leave businesses worse off.

Following a detailed investigation, and having sought a wide range of views, the CMA found that the takeover would “be likely to reduce competition and lead to a worse deal for those suppliers and customers.”

Now, the CMA believes the transaction would “harm the choices available to suppliers that supply shredder feed – scrap metal that needs to be shredded – in the South East, and others such as car manufacturers that sell large volumes of scrap metal through tendered contracts in the West Midlands and the North East.”

The CMA is requiring that Warrington-headquartered European Metal Recycling sell five of the sites it bought from Metal Waste Recycling: three in the West Midlands, one in the North East, and one in the South East.

Full Content: The Business Desk