Opening of a public consultation as part of a merger in the temperature-controlled goods transport sector
The Autorité de la concurrence is examining a proposed merger under the terms of which the company Prim@ever, jointly controlled by STEF and SATAR Investissements companies, plans to acquire, with the company Olano, joint control of the TMF group. All of these players are active, in particular, in the temperature-controlled goods transport and logistics services markets.
Specifically concerning the temperature-controlled goods transport market, the decision-making practice of the Autorité de la concurrence distinguishes different segments depending on the domestic or cross-border nature of the transport; the type of product transported (hazardous materials and temperature-controlled products were considered as specific markets); the type of offer proposed (dedicated transport, transport by full trucks, transport by lots or group of lots, transport by courier) or the packaging method (packaged goods vs. bulk).
The Autorité questions the relevance of the segmentations currently used by its decision-making practice as well as the geographic dimension of these markets.
Given the large number of competitors and customers in these markets, the Autorité has decided to leave the possibility for them to respond freely within the framework of a public consultation.