Commission Grants Clearance For Kingspan To Acquire Conqueror

The Commerce Commission has granted clearance for Kingspan Limited to acquire the insulated panel and boards business of Conqueror New Zealand Limited. Both Kingspan and Conqueror supply insulated panels made with a polyisocyanurate (PIR) foam core (used in roofing, walls and in the construction of cool-stores and other controlled environments), and insulation boards also made with PIR foam (used as an insulating layer in a range of construction projects).

Division Chair Sue Begg said the Commission was satisfied that the acquisition is unlikely to substantially lessen competition in any New Zealand market.

“For the supply of insulated panels, our investigation found that Kingspan would face significant competition from other insulated panel suppliers such as Metalcraft and Bondor following the proposed acquisition. The likely expansion of Metalcraft, which is scheduled to open a new insulated panel manufacturing facility in Hamilton in 2024, will also add significant capacity to the market,” said Ms Begg.

“We are also satisfied that the merger would be unlikely to substantially lessen competition for the supply of insulation boards, due to the wide range of alternative insulation options available to customers.”

A public version of the written reasons for the decision will be available on the Commission’s case register in due course.

Background
We will give clearance to a proposed merger if we are satisfied that the merger is unlikely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.

Further information explaining how the Commission assesses a merger application is available on our website.

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