Merger Control

John Meade advised on a wide range of Merger Control cases and Merger Control issues over the last three years. Some of the cases are listed below. In addition, a number of cases which raised particular competition and process issues on which he worked over 2020 to 2021 are listed below.

Klass Energy/McMullen Oils

On 27 February 2025 John notified to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (“the CCPC”) the acquisition by Klass Energy of McMullen Oils. John is acting on behalf of Klass Energy in relation to the Notification. Klass Energy operates an oil and fuel distribution business across Leinster and in the Mid-West of Ireland whilst McMullen Oils operates an oil and fuel distribution business in Counties Cavan and Monaghan. The CCPC review is ongoing. The case concerns the sectors in oil and fuel distribution. The case also raised procedural issues in relation to the issue of Notification.

Wienerberger/Grafton Group Plc

John is currently advising Grafton Group Plc (“Grafton”) on the Notification to the CCPC of the sale of its subsidiary MFP to the Austrian company Wienerberger. The Notification was submitted on 14 February 2025. Grafton operates in building materials and DIY products in Ireland. The case concerns the sectors in pipe systems, rainwater and roofline products. The CCPC review is ongoing.

John has advised Grafton on four Notifications which the company has submitted to the CCPC over the last four years. In the three other cases Grafton was the purchaser. In Merger Control cases, the competition advisor to the purchaser tends to undertake the bulk of the competition work involved. In the last ten Notifications to the CCPC in which John has acted, John has advised for the purchaser in eight of the cases. This reflects his experience and reputation in Merger Control.

Erisbeg/Complete Highway Care

John advised Erisbeg, a private equity fund, on its acquisition of Complete Highway Care, a company which provides temporary traffic management services. The Notification was also submitted to the CCPC on 14 February 2025. The Notification was made under the CCPC’s Simplified Merger Notification Procedure (“the Simplified Procedure”). This procedure is used by the CCPC when there is no competitive overlap between purchaser and target or the overlap represents less than 15% of the market in which the merger parties both operate. The procedure requires less information than a “full form” Notification which is used when the competitive overlap between the parties is greater than 15% and approval can be obtained quickly within two weeks or so. Approval in this case was obtained on 4 March 2025. Approval on a “full form” Notification will generally involve a likely timeframe of four to five weeks and longer if competition issues arise.

In 2024 “short form” Notifications represented 71% of all Notifications submitted to the CCPC. This has enabled the CCPC to concentrate on cases which raise competition issues. At the same time, engagement with the CCPC on the short form process can be quite involved if the parties are competitors. If so, the CCPC will require detailed arguments and evidence that the relevant market has been correctly defined by the parties and that their combined market share is less than 15% if the Simplified Procedure is to apply.

JLA Group/Broderick Bros Limited

John advised JLA Group on the Notification of its acquisition of Broderick Bros Limited. The Notification was submitted on 20 September 2025 and approved by the CCPC on 14 October 2024 under the Simplified Procedure. The case concerned the sectors in commercial laundry and commercial catering. As the parties were competitors, they had to satisfy the CCPC in relation to the definition of the relevant market and that their combined market share was less than 15%. The CCPC accepted the arguments and evidence provided by the parties and approved the proposal under the Simplified Procedure.

Circle K/Pelco Holdings Limited

This case concerns the markets in motor fuels and grocery goods and the proposed acquisition by Circle K of nine filling stations operated by its competitor, Pelco Holdings Limited (“Pelco”), under the Texaco brand. The proposal was notified to the CCPC on 18 July 2024. John is acting on behalf of Pelco in relation to the Notification. The CCPC commenced a Phase 2 investigation into the proposal on 5 December 2024. The CCPC review is ongoing.

Select/DID Electrical

The case concerned the acquisition by Select, a retailer of consumer electronic products, of DID Electrical, a retailer of electronic appliances. The proposal was notified on 20 November 2023. There was competitive overlap between the parties in a number of products but the CCPC accepted the parties’ arguments and evidence that the overlap was less than 15%. As a result, the proposal was approved under the Simplified Procedure on 6 December 2023. John advised Select on the Notification.

Grafton Group Plc/Rooney’s Hardware

In this case, Grafton acquired the building materials and DIY business of Rooney’s Hardware in Kells, County Meath. There was overlap between the parties in local markets in building materials and in DIY products. The proposal was notified to the CCPC on 14 September 2023. The CCPC approved the proposal in Phase 1 on 23 October 2023 without extending the initial Phase 1 timeframe. John advised Grafton on the Notification.

Nissan Ireland/Renault Ireland

John advised Nissan Ireland on its acquisition of the distribution business in Ireland in Renault and Dacia vehicles of Renault S.A.S., the parent company of Renault Ireland. The proposal raised horizontal and vertical competition issues. The proposal was notified to the CCPC on 21 August 2023 and approved on 28 September 2023 in Phase 1 without the CCPC extending its Phase 1 timeframe.

Thorntons Recycling/City Bin

This case concerned competition in the residential and commercial waste sectors in which both Thorntons Recycling and City Bin competed. The parties’ operations in residential waste collection overlapped in a number of areas in County Dublin. The CCPC undertook a Phase 2 review of the proposal but approved the proposal early in Phase 2. Approval was granted subject to the parties providing legally binding commitments relating to the divestment by Thorntons Recycling of certain numbers of residential customers in a number of postcode areas in County Dublin. The proposal had originally been notified on 3 August 2022 and was approved on 13 July 2023. The CCPC had commenced its Phase 2 review on 22 June 2023. John acted for Thorntons Recycling in the case and in the subsequent divestment process with the CCPC.

Tenants Consolidated/Brockley Holdings

This Notification concerned the acquisition by Tenants Consolidated, a company involved in chemical manufacturing and chemical distribution, of Brockley Holdings, which had a chemical distribution business in Ireland. Whilst the parties were competitors, the CCPC accepted the parties’ arguments and evidence that their combined market share was less than 15%. As a result, the CCPC applied the Simplified Procedure. The proposal was notified on 28 February 2023 and approved on 16 March 2023. John acted for Tenants Consolidated in the case.

Frank Keane/Doran Motors

The Frank Keane Group (“Frank Keane”) sells new and pre-owned passenger cars and vehicles under various brands and provides a wide range of related services. In this case it acquired the competing business of Doran Motors and Drogheda Car Sales. The proposal was notified on 9 September 2022 and approved on 20 October 2022 without the CCPC extending its Phase 1 review. John acted for Frank Keane in the case.

Cathexis Ireland/Jones Engineering

The case concerned professional engineering services in Ireland. The Cathexis Group was an investment group involved in a wide range of industries around the world, including engineering services in Ireland. The Jones Group was a global group of engineering contracting companies with operations in Ireland. The Notification was submitted on 20 July 2022 and approved on 20 August 2022 without the CCPC extending the Phase 1 review timetable. John advised Cathexis Holdings in the case.

Cathexis Holdings/Leo Lynch Engineering

This case had also involved the Cathexis Group and the sector in professional engineering services. The target company provided specialised engineering services in Ireland primarily in the medical sector. As the transaction involved the purchaser’s first acquisition in professional engineering services in Ireland, the case was notified (on 3 June 2022) and approved (on 23 June 2022) under the Simplified Procedure. John advised Cathexis Holdings in the case.

AIB/Autolease Fleet Management

On 22 October 2021 the CCPC had approved the acquisition by Nissan Ireland of sole control of Autolease Fleet Management (“Autolease”), a company providing commercial fleet leasing and fleet management services to businesses. The case had raised issues in relation to the issue of Notification. On 4 February 2022, a proposal involving the subsequent acquisition by Allied Irish Banks (“AIB”) of a 50% shareholding in Autolease was notified to the CCPC. The proposal was approved on 16 March 2022 without the CCPC extending the Phase 1 review timetable. John acted on behalf of Autolease in the two cases.

Grafton Group PLC/Sitetech

John advised Grafton on its acquisition of Sitetech. Sitetech was a competitor of Grafton in building materials and in construction accessories in particular.

The CCPC undertook site visits to the premises of Grafton and Sitetech as part of its review of the proposal. In cases where the CCPC undertakes site visits in Phase 1, the regulator will often extend its Phase 1 review of a proposal. In this case, however, the CCPC approved the proposal on 2 February 2022 without extending its Phase 1 review. The proposal had been notified on 24 December 2021.

In addition to the Notifications listed above for the period 2022 to 2025, John worked on a number of cases in 2020 and 2021 which raised particular competition and process issues, including the cases listed below.

Xtratherm (Unilin)/Ballytherm

On 13 August 2021 the CCPC approved the acquisition by Xtratherm (a subsidiary of Unilin B.V.) of the insulation business on the island of Ireland and in Great Britain of its competitor Ballytherm. Xtratherm manufactures insulation products in Navan in Ireland and in Chesterfield in England whilst Ballytherm manufactured insulation products in Ballyconnell in Ireland and was due to open a further manufacturing facility at Ross-on-Wye in England. John advised Xtratherm in the case.

The case raised issues concerning the voluntary notification procedure, the definition of the relevant product and geographic markets involved in the case and the nature and extent of competition in insulation products. The CCPC undertook site visits to the manufacturing facilities of Xtratherm and Ballytherm in Navan and Ballyconnell, respectively, as part of its Phase 1 review but approved the proposal unconditionally without extending the Phase 1 review period. As noted in relation to Grafton/Sitetech, the regulator will often extend its Phase 1 review when it undertakes site visits but did not do so in this case.

Eason/Dubray Books

John acted on behalf of the book retailer Eason on the Notification to the CCPC of its acquisition of its competitor Dubray Books. The CCPC approved the acquisition under Irish Merger Control rules on 10 September 2020. Whilst the parties were competitors in a number of local areas, the regulator did not impose any conditions in relation to approval and approval was granted in an extended Phase 1 review without the CCPC moving in Phase 2. Notification had been submitted on 27 March 2021 and Phase 1 extended partly because of the Pandemic.

The case raised a number of important procedural and competition issues under Irish Merger Control rules, including mandatory and voluntary notification and the review of competition issues in national and local markets. The case also raised issues on the definition of the relevant market and the role played by online competition. The case was one of the first transactions involving competitors in which the CCPC reviewed the competition issues involved in the context of the Pandemic and the economic climate arising from the Pandemic.

Dawn Meats/Dunbia

On 29 July 2020, the Irish beef and lamb processor Dawn Meats completed its acquisition of a 30% shareholding in Dunbia, a beef and lamb processor based in Northern Ireland and Great Britain. The 30% shareholding had been held by Mr Jim Dobson. As Dawn Meats already owned 70% of the shares in Dunbia, Dawn Meats owned 100% of Dunbia as a result of the proposal.

John Meade advised Dawn Meats on the Merger Control aspects of the acquisition. In 2017 John had advised Dawn Meats and Dunbia on the Merger Control issues relating to the establishment of the Dunbia joint venture in which Dawn Meats and Jim Dobson, respectively, held 70% and 30% shareholdings. The original merger had raised a number of competition and process issues and was notified for Merger Control approval to the CCPC in Ireland, the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) in the UK, the Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) in Germany and the Authority for Consumers & Markets (“ACM”) in Holland.

John Meade acted for both Dawn Meats and Dunbia on the Merger Control aspects of the merger. He represented both companies on the Notifications before the CCPC in Dublin and the CMA in London. John worked with German and Dutch law firms which he instructed on behalf of his clients on the Notifications in Germany and Holland.

The transaction was approved in Germany and Holland in mid September 2017. The CCPC and the CMA both announced on 29 September 2017 that they had each approved the transaction under their respective Merger Control regimes. The Irish and UK regulators co-operated with each other on their reviews and with the European Commission. The European Commission was reviewing at the same time an acquisition by another meat processor with operations in Ireland, the UK and internationally, ABP, of a meat processor based in Northern Ireland, Linden Foods. The European Commission also announced on 29 September 2017 that it had approved that transaction under EU Merger Control rules.

The Dawn Meats/Dunbia merger illustrated a number of issues from a Merger Control perspective -

• National Merger Control authorities which review the same transaction will co-operate closely with each other and the European Commission in their review procedures, even to the extent of coordinating the timing of decisions
• This is particularly likely to arise in practice on transactions involving companies based in neighbouring markets such as Ireland and the UK
• This may increase if ongoing issues raised by Brexit increase the number of cross border transactions such as the Dawn Meats/Dunbia merger

Competition Law and State Aid

John Meade advised on a wide range of Competition Law and State Aid matters over the last three years. Given the sensitivity of the issues involved in such matters, most of the matters are not in the public domain. Some of the public matters are listed below.

GAA/RTE – GAAGO

John advised the GAA over the period 2022 to 2024 on issues raised by the CCPC in relation to the live streaming in Ireland of GAA games by GAAGO, a joint venture involving the GAA and RTE. John had been previously involved in a Merger Control Notification to the CCPC when GAAGO was established in order to provide live streaming of GAA games outside of Ireland. The CCPC approved the original joint venture on 18 July 2017 following Notification on 9 June 2017.

Immunity Application

John advised an international client over the period 2021 to 2023 on the submission of an Application for Immunity to the CCPC. The Application was submitted in September 2023 and was one of the first Immunity Applications submitted under new rules which came into force in September 2023. As a result, the Application raised a number of novel issues under the CCPC’s Immunity system. The Application was submitted in conjunction with Immunity Applications submitted in a number of countries in addition to Ireland. John was instructed by an international law firm in the case.

Protégé and Avalon v Irish Distillers

From 2018 to 2022 John advised two clients, Protégé and Avalon, in Competition Law proceedings which they took in the Irish High Court against Irish Distillers. The Plaintiffs alleged that Irish Distillers had acted in an abuse of a dominant position in the market in Ireland in Irish whiskey by refusing to supply Irish whiskey to them for their own Irish whiskey brand “The Wild Geese”. The case went to the Irish Supreme Court on the issue of security for costs. The case did not proceed following the Supreme Court’s ruling. In practical terms, the Supreme Court’s judgement makes it difficult in terms of costs for a private litigant to take a competition case in the Irish High Court against a dominant or otherwise powerful defendant.

The Warmblood Society of Ireland

Over the period 2018 to 2022 John advised the Warmblood Society of Ireland (“WSI”) on a State Aid Complaint which WSI submitted to DGComp. The Complaint was accepted by the European Commission which took action in Ireland in relation to the issues raised in the Complaint. John is currently advising WSI on “follow on” proceedings which it is taking under EU and Irish Competition Law in the Irish High Court in relation to issues related to the issues raised by WSI in its Complaint to the European Commission. The Complaint and the High Court proceedings concern competition in studbook services in Ireland.