By Sandy Walker As reported in our year‐ end review (Competition and Foreign Investment Review in Canada: Taking Stock of 2011 and Looking Ahead to 2012, available here), the Commissioner of Competition challenged the completed merger of two landfill companies in northern British Columbia, CCS Corporation and Complete Environmental – the first contested merger case since 2005. On May 29, the Competition Bureau announced its challenge was successful – a significant case because not only was it a non‐notifiable transaction but the Bureau had to argue that the merger would lead to a substantial prevention of competition as the target, Complete Environmental, had not yet commenced its operations.
The Competition Tribunal ordered divestiture of Complete Environmental's Babkirk hazardous waste landfill site. Vendors in M&A transactions may be relieved to learn that the Tribunal did not follow the Commissioner's preferred alternative – to dissolve the merger, a result that can be punitive to vendors.
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