Capita Group / Tribal Group

OFT closed case: Anticipated acquisition by Capita Group plc of the health and government consulting businesses of Tribal Group plc.

• From: Competition and Markets Authority
• Published: 14 June 2011

• Case type: Mergers
• Case state: Closed
• Market sector: Building and construction
• Outcome: Mergers - phase 1 found not to qualify
• Closed: 14 June 2011

Affected market: Consultancy services

No. ME/5002/11

1. The OFT sent Capita Group an Inquiry Letter on 13 April 2011 requesting further details of this acquisition which had received significant press coverage and in response to internal concerns that the deal may give the parties a significant share of supply in respect of treasury consultancy services to housing associations. The parties responded on 12 May 2011, advising that the merger completed on 28 April 2008 and that the assets acquired did not include treasury consultancy services to housing associations and that the merger did not fall within the OFT's jurisdiction. An Invitation to Comment was published on 13 May 2011, with a date for responses of 26 May 2011.
2. A response to the ITC was received from a competitor who advised that the parties overlapped in respect of software used by housing associations. This response (in anonymised form) was put back to the parties who commented that Tribal did not supply such software and that there was no overlap in this activity.
3. On the basis of the information available to it, the Office of Fair Trading has decided that the anticipated acquisition of the health and government consulting businesses of Tribal Group plc by Capita Group plc does not qualify for investigation under the mergers provision of the Enterprise Act 2002 (the Act), because neither the UK turnover test nor the share of supply test in section 23 of the Act is met. A relevant merger situation has, therefore, not been created.

Published 14 June 2011