The Autorité de la concurrence clears the acquisition of psychiatric care group Inicea by the company Korian

On 9 November 2020, the Korian company notified the Autorité de la concurrence of its plan to acquire exclusive control of the Inicea group.

Parties to the transaction

Korian is a group specialising in the health sector. In particular, it manages several clinics specialising in follow-up and rehabilitation care, psychiatric care as well as several nursing homes. It also offers a range of home hospitalisation, home nursing services and services of assisted living facilities and shared accommodation between seniors.

The Inicea group manages 19 psychiatric care establishments.

The transaction is not likely to harm competition

The transaction mainly results in an overlap of activity in the market for the supply of psychiatric care in which both parties to the transaction operate. However, the Autorité considers that the transaction will not modify the structure of competition in this market and that it is therefore not likely to reduce competition.

In addition, due to the respective activities of the parties, the transaction could also lead to vertical links between their diagnostic and hospital care activities and Korian's follow-up and rehabilitation (SRH) activities. However, any negative effect resulting from the transaction was ruled out given the low rate of patients’ transfer from psychiatric care to units offering SRH and the very limited number of SRH establishments of Korian in psychiatry.

Finally, the Autorité ruled out any competitive risk of vertical integration between the offer of psychiatric care and the long-term accommodation services for the elderly offered by Korian.

The Autorité thus cleared the transaction unconditionally.

Full text of the decision will soon be published on the Autorité’s website