STOCKHOLM, Aug. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Tobii AB
(publ) today announces that the company will
be required by the UK Competition and Markets Authority
(CMA) to divest Smartbox Assistive Technology
Ltd. Tobii will
now review CMA's complete report in
detail and will in
parallel initiate a divestment
process.
The British competition and markets authority, CMA, today
announced the final conclusions of its investigation
and has required a full divestiture
of Smartbox by Tobii. The CMA concluded that the
merger may result in a lessening of competition in the
UK.
Tobii strongly disagrees with
the CMA's decision. Tobii believes that a
merger of the two companies would have
led to increased innovation and the possibility to
provide a broader range of products, benefiting users with
disabilities both globally and in the UK.
"We can only regret CMA's decision. We are convinced
that the merger would have given positive effects for the many in
need of assistive technology for communication.
However, this was a relatively small
acquisition relating primarily to
complementing our
software portfolio. A divestiture will therefore only
have a limited impact on our strategy.
Our long-term financial
targets for Tobii Dynavox and Tobii Group remain
intact", said Henrik Eskilsson,
CEO, Tobii Group.
Background
On October 1,
2018 Tobii AB (publ) acquired Smartbox Assistive
Technology Ltd, a UK based company operating in the field of
assistive technology for communication. Tobii paid the
owners/founders GBP 11 million in
cash, corresponding to approximately SEK 130
million. Smartbox employs some 70 people. Net
sales in 2017 were GBP 9,3 million,
corresponding to approximately SEK 110
Million.
Upon the announcement of the acquisition, the CMA
opened an investigation under UK competition law. The two
companies' brands and operations have been held separate, pending
todays completion of the CMA's review.
This information is information that Tobii AB
(publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse
Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through
the agency of the contact person set out below, on 15 August
2019, at 8:55 a.m. CEST.
Contact
Ola Elmeland, Investor Relations,
phone +46-73-440-98-62 email: ola.elmeland@tobii.com
Nils Lindhe, VP Corporate Communications, phone:
+46-768-94-84-84, email: nils.lindhe@tobii.com
This information was brought to you by Cision
http://news.cision.com
https://news.cision.com/tobii-ab/r/cma-requires-tobii-to-divest-smartbox,c2881424
The following files are available for download:
https://mb.cision.com/Main/2874/2881424/1090494.pdf
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CMA requires Tobii to
divest Smartbox
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