On November 6, 2020, Thailand’s Office of Trade Competition Commission (OTCC) cleared the $10.6 billion acquisition by the Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group of Tesco’s businesses in Thailand subject to conditions. The CP Group is Thailand’s largest conglomerate and is active in the grocery space through its 7-Eleven convenience store chain, the Makro cash-and-carry business and the food manufacturer CP Foods. Tesco’s business in Thailand includes a portfolio of grocery hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience stores; and the acquisition also included Tesco’s Malaysia business. CRA provided economic assistance in relation to the merger filing with the Thai regulator, including evidence on competitive constraints and interactions between CP Group’s convenience and cash-and-carry stores and Tesco’s convenience stores, supermarkets and hypermarkets, as well as the vertical overlap through CP Foods.
A CRA team provided economic assistance and support to the CP Group. News coverage of the deal clearance is available on Reuters.
