Norva24 Vest not allowed to acquire Vitek Miljø

The Norwegian Competition Authority prohibits Norva24 Vest’s acquisition of Vitek Miljø. The authority’s assessment is that the acquisition will impair competition in the market for emptying and pressure washing services in the former Hordaland County, resulting in higher prices or lower quality for customers in this market.

Norva24 Vest is part of a larger group with around 20 branches in Norway, mainly located in Eastern, Southern and Western Norway, and Western Norway. Vitek Miljø is located in Bergen. Both parties offer emptying and pressure washing services, as well as pipe renewal and other pipe services.

Norva24 Vest and Vitek Miljø are the two largest players in the market for emptying and pressure washing services in former Hordaland County, and the concentration in the market will increase significantly as a result of the acquisition.

 – Norva24 Vest and Vitek Miljø are each other’s closest competitors, and the competitive pressure between them will disappear if the acquisition is completed. This could have led to increased prices and poorer quality of emptying and pressure washing services for private, public, and business customers, says project manager Ingvild Nordtveit at the Department of Construction, Industry, and Energy in the Norwegian Competition Authority

Emptying and pressure washing services include, amongst other things, emptying septic tanks, sand traps, oil and grease separators and other wet or dry masses, as well as cleaning and/or high pressure washing of fuel tanks, manholes, tunnels and building facades.

The Competition Authority considers that the other players in the market for emptying and pressure washing services in former Hordaland County are less close competitors to the parties, and that there are high barriers to entry in the market.

 – The companies’ responses to the Norwegian Competition Authority have not changed our assessment of the competitive pressure Norva and Vitek exert on each other today. This competitive pressure will disappear if the acquisition is completed, says acting deputy head of the Department of Construction, Industry, and Energy, Hanne Lilja Falkanger.

The Norwegian Competition Authority’s decision is final, but the companies can appeal the decision to the Competition Appeals Tribunal.