© Tobii AB
General |
CMA requires Tobii to divest Smartbox
Tobii AB says that it will be required by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to divest Smartbox Assistive Technology Ltd. The company says that it will review CMA’s complete report in detail and will in parallel initiate a divestment process.
The British competition and markets authority, CMA, has reached its 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”, says Henrik Eskilsson, CEO, Tobii Group, in a press release.
On October 1, 2018 Tobii 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.