UK competition laws have scuppered the sale of Euro Auctions to a Canadian suitor in what would have been one of the biggest corporate deals in Northern Ireland’s history.
Ritchie Bros announced its takeover of the plant and heavy machinery auction house for around £772 million, or $1 billion, in August 2021 but revealed on Friday that it was pulling out of the deal after the UK regulator flagged a number of concerns.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had referred the takeover to a more detailed phase 2 stage review, one Ritchie Bros felt wouldn’t meet the regulator’s approval.
