The Commissioner of Competition recently filed a notice of application with the Canadian
Competition Tribunal challenging the acquisition of a Canadian
software company that closed on May 13, 2019. The Commissioner
claims that the acquisition has resulted in a merger to monopoly
for the development, service and supply of business critical
reserve reporting and valuation software (reserves software) for
medium and large oil and gas producers (producers) in Canada by
combining under common private equity ownership the two principal
software firms serving this alleged market.
The Commissioner's application is notable for a number of
reasons, including the following:
- It is the first contested merger
challenge filed with the Tribunal since the Commissioner sought to
block the proposed acquisition of Office Depot Inc. by Staples Inc.
in December 2015 and aligns with the new Commissioner's
recently stated intention to make aggressive use of the enforcement
tools
