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Ireland: Car dealer ordered to pay for merger misstep

By  |  April 9, 2019

A leading car dealer must pay €2,000 (US$2,252.90) to charity after pleading guilty to breaking competition law by failing to get the regulator’s approval to take over a rival, reported the Irish Times.

Spirit Ford owner Armalou Holdings faced the first prosecution of its kind on Monday, April 8, for buying rival Lillis-O’Donnell Motor Company in 2015 before getting the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s (CCPC) approval.

Judge Anthony Halpin ordered Armalou to pay €2,000 to Dublin charity Little Flower Penny Dinners and imposed the Probation Act for one year after the company pleaded guilty to six breaches of mergers law.

Since 2014, parties must notify takeovers or mergers involving businesses with a yearly turnover of €3 million (US$3.4 million) or more to the CCPC for approval before they can go ahead. Armalou’s sales in 2015 were €157 million (US$176.8 million).

Full Content: Irish Times

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