UK competition authority CMA, has requested the European Commission to investigate the partial acquisition of Nets A/S by Mastercard.
Following the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority’s (DCCA) request on the same issue on 27 February, the CMA also applied to the Commission on 16 March to induce an investigation against the acquisition of Nets A/S by Mastercard. Norwegian Competition Authority also investigated the transaction and cleared.
Mastercard, the acquirer party, supplies alternative payment solutions through its New Payments Platform division that includes VocaLink Holdings Limited (VocaLink) which provides central infrastructure services (CIS) to payments schemes. Nets is currently a business unit within Nets A/S and operates as a global payment business, providing payment services and technology solutions, mainly in the Nordic region, as well as within the Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA). Both Parties, alone or in partnership with other providers, currently offer or compete to offer A2A (Account to account) CIS to interbank payment schemes across Europe. It is stated that in the UK, the Parties were competing for supply of an important component of an A2A CIS solution known as real-time payment capability (RTPC) before the announcement of merger.
The CMA found that the merger threatens competition in the UK market significantly but a Phase-2 investigation is not yet initiated as the Authority is of the opinion that it would be more appropriate for the Commission to investigate this transaction, since the merger would also affect trade between Member States.
(CMA – 16.03.2020)
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