OTTAWA, February 19, 2008 — The Competition Bureau announced today that it will not challenge Thomson Corporation's acquisition of Reuters PLC. Commitments made by Thomson to the Bureau to divest certain assets, which are based on remedies negotiated with the U.S. and European authorities, alleviated the Bureau's competition concerns.
"After an extensive review of this transaction and in light of Thomson's commitments to the Bureau, we concluded that the acquisition is unlikely to result in a substantial lessening or prevention of competition in the financial information markets," said Melanie Aitken, Senior Deputy Commissioner of Competition.
Thomson and Reuters are active in providing detailed financial information through computer applications and real-time and historical financial data. Products including "Thomson One" and “Reuters 3000” are used by financial professionals to advise clients on a broad array of financial transactions. While the Bureau examined the effects of the transaction on all products supplied by the parties, it was primarily concerned about the lack of remaining competition capable of providing the detailed financial data on companies and financial transactions supplied by the parties.
Over the course of its review, the Bureau worked closely with counterparts at the US Department of Justice and the European Commission's Competition Directorate (EC). The parties committed to these authorities to divest copies of their databases in three categories ("Reuters Estimates", "Thomson Fundamentals", and "Reuters Aftermarket Research"). Reuters will also divest a copy of its Economics database to meet EC concerns in a fourth category. These divestitures include related assets that are used to provide detailed financial information in electronic form.
These divestitures, along with additional commitments made by Thomson to the Bureau relating to the manner in which these divestitures will be implemented in Canadian markets, resolve the Bureau's outstanding concerns.
"For international mergers, the overriding concern for the Bureau is to secure a remedy to resolve a likely substantial lessening or prevention of competition in Canada. Where appropriate, the Bureau will refer to remedies agreed on in other jurisdictions, provided the remedy required addresses the Canadian issues," added Ms. Aitken.
The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency. We contribute to the prosperity of Canadians by protecting and promoting competitive markets and enabling informed consumer choice.
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