Tesco Ireland has been ordered to sell a Joyce’s Supermarket outlet in Oranmore, County Galway, to gain clearance from competition regulators to purchase the rest of the chain.
Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) launched a preliminary investigation after the deal to acquire ten Joyce’s Supermarkets stores was agreed in November last year. In April, it was announced that a full investigation would be required in order to establish if the transaction would lead to a substantial lessening of competition in the local market.
That probe identified potential competition concerns related to the number of alternative effective competitor supermarkets in the Oranmore area, where there is a large Tesco outlet nearby.
The CCPC said yesterday that Tesco has now made a legally binding commitment to divest the Joyce’s supermarket in Oranmore as a going concern to a suitable purchaser, who will be subject to approval by the regulator.
The commitment means Tesco can now buy and operate the other nine Joyce’s outlets.
Tesco has said that all the stores will be rebranded and include services such as online shopping, click & collect, clothing and homeware products.
Tesco currently controls 21.9% of the grocery market in Ireland from around 150 stores.
“As we celebrate 25 years of Tesco in Ireland, the approval of this acquisition is an exciting opportunity to continue to grow our business for the future; bringing great value, quality and broad range of products and services to the customers and communities of Galway City and County,” said Natasha Adams, CEO of Tesco Ireland.
