A Veterinary Misdiagnosis: Analysing the Decision of Ireland’s CCPC in the IVC Evidensia/Old Church Vets Merger

Patrick Massey

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: This paper analyses the decision of Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) in relation to a merger between two veterinary practice groups. Several aspects of the CCPC’s analysis in the case are highly unsatisfactory. Based on information contained in the CCPC Determination, there is a relatively high probability that the decision constitutes a Type II (false negative) error, i.e. the CCPC failed to identify a potentially anti-competitive merger. At the very least, the transaction should have been subject to a more detailed review, rather than being cleared on the basis of a preliminary investigation. The decision in this case adds to a list of CCPC merger decisions involving potential Type I and Type II errors, raising serious questions about the quality of the CCPC’s merger analysis and internal quality control procedures. It also suggests that lessons have not been learned from previous cases.

Keywords: Merger Control; Market Definition; Type II error; substantial lessening of competition; Catchment Areas; Closeness of competition. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: K21 L1 L13 L40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-05-15, Revised 2026-08-02
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