Lloyds Pharmacy has resubmitted a new application to the competition regulator for approval of its proposed takeover of the McCabes Pharmacy Group.
It follows a decision earlier this month by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) to deem the parties’ original submission in October of last year as invalid.
The CCPC has previously said that in December of last year, it issued a requirement for further information to Phoenix Group, which owns Lloyds Pharmacy, and to McCabes.
Both responded on January 16, but the CCPC said that having reviewed those responses it decided it was not satisfied that its request had been fully complied with.
As a result, the CCPC deemed the merger notification as invalid under the terms of competition law.
This led to the closure of its investigation into the matter, with no determination either way issued.
“The CCPC’s decision that the merger notification is invalid is not a decision on whether or not the proposed acquisition can be put into effect,” it said earlier this month.
“The parties are required to re-notify the proposed acquisition before it can be put into effect. Should the parties choose to renotify the proposed acquisition, another preliminary investigation will begin,” it added.
Today the CCPC said it had received a new notification on Friday and would begin a fresh investigation.
Lloyds Pharmacy operates 82 pharmacies around the country, with McCabes running 31, most of which are located in Dublin or the wider Leinster area.
The combined entity would be the largest retail pharmacy chain in Ireland.
The Phoenix group, which owns Lloyds, also controls United Drug Wholesale, one of two major pharma wholesalers in the country.
Financial terms of the proposed takeover have not been disclosed.
McCabes employs around 430 people, while Phoenix, including LloydsPharmacy, has 2,000 employees.
