The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA) approved on 20.12.2024 the acquisition in which the Mehiläinen Group acquires 21 units of elderly social services from Humana Finland. The approval and implementation of the acquisition is conditional upon the sale of Hoivakoti Joutsenkulma Oy, a nursing home operating in Varkaus, to a suitable buyer.
The FCCA has investigated the competitive effects of the acquisition between Mehiläinen and Humana Finland’s elderly social services. The Mehiläinen Group operates extensively in the health and social services market. Mehiläinen offers, among other things, residential care and home care services for the elderly, as well as residential care services for mental health and substance abuse rehabilitants. The acquisition includes 19 residential care units of the Humana Group, of which 15 offer housing services for the elderly and four offer housing services for elderly mental health rehabilitants. In addition, the acquisition includes two units offering home care and home nursing services.
Based on the FCCA’s investigations, the acquisition would have adverse competition effects in the market for round-the-clock residential care for the elderly in Varkaus. The acquisition would create a dominant position in the area, and the number of private service providers would decrease to three. Mehiläinen would become an unavoidable trading partner for the welfare region.
The FCCA did not find competition concerns in other regional markets for elderly or mental health and substance abuse rehabilitant residential care. The FCCA noted in its investigations that the social services market is concentrated in various parts of Finland. However, the acquisition under review now did not significantly affect market concentration in other areas.
Sale of the Joutsenkulma nursing home in Varkaus as a condition for approving the acquisition
Competition problems arising from a merger can often be eliminated by imposing remedies. Mehiläinen and Humana commit to selling the entire unit of Hoivakoti Joutsenkulma Oy in Varkaus to a third party. As a result of the sale of Joutsenkulma, the regional market in Varkaus would not concentrate from the situation prior to the acquisition. The effectiveness of the commitment is ensured by the fact that the acquisition cannot be implemented until a binding agreement has been made with the buyer, and the FCCA has approved the buyer.
According to the FCCA’s assessment, the commitments are sufficient to eliminate the competition problems arising from the acquisition and to maintain a competitive structure in the market.
The FCCA’s decision includes parties’ business secrets. The decision will be published once business secrets have been removed.