Dental Chains Adress OFT Concerns
Two dental chains have confirmed that they will sell practices and terminate NHS contracts in order to address concerns raised by the Office of Fair Trading.
The OFT raised concerns about a proposed merger between Bolton-based firm, Integrated Dental Holdings and Surrey firm, Associated Dental Practices on the basis that it may lead to a substantial reduction in competition.
The merger was announced in January and plans were outlined for a 450 million pound buy-out of Integrated Dental Holdings, which was to be managed by The Carlyle Group. The Carlyle Group agreed to buy IDH from Bank of America Merrill Lynch Capital Partners and merge the firm with Associated Dental Practices and Carlyle will join forces with private equity firm, Palamon Capital Partners.
The merger would have created a chain of 450 dental practices, with the majority providing NHS dental care, however, investigations carried out by the Office of Fair Trading concluded that the merger would reduce competition significantly in nine areas of England.
As a result of the OFT’s concerns, the two firms have agreed to take measures to address the situation and representatives from the OFT have stated that they are pleased that discussions are underway.
Join this Discussion
