Kingspan quits UK panel deal

Kingspan has withdrawn from its proposed purchase of UK sandwich panel supplier Building Solutions.

London — Ireland-based insulated panel giant, Kingspan has withdrawn from its proposed purchase of UK sandwich panel supplier Building Solutions.

The UK Competition and Mergers Authority (CMA) broke the news on May 21 when it announced it was canceling its in-depth investigation into the purchase proposed on April 23.

On April 28, Kingspan and Building Solutions told the panel they were considering whether to continue with the proposed deal or abandon it. Kingspan told the CMA on May 20 the deal was off.

If the deal worth 37.5 million euros ($42.5 million) had gone through unaltered, only Tata group and limited imports of the panels would offer completion for rigid PU panel supply in the UK, said the CMA.

Colin Rafferty, a senior director of the CMA said in April that "Kingspan is by far the largest player in the market and this deal would involve it buying up on of its only two meaningful competitors. So, we're concerned that the deal could damage competition, resulting higher prices or lower quality products."

This is the second European takeover attempt that Kingspan has walked away from in just over a year. It withdrew an offer for Recticel on May 7, 2019.

That deal would have seen Recticel dismembered. Kingspan planned to keep the rigid foam business and to sell the flexible foam business to Austria's Greiner.

In April this year, Greiner became the sole owner of the previously 50:50 Eurofoam joint venture between it at Recticel.

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