A week after Diebold announced their successful merger with Wincor Nixdorf AG, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has found that the deal could lead to the “substantial lessening of competition in the supply of customer-operated ATMs in the UK.”

In its initial investigation, the CMA found that both parties compete closely in the supply of customer-operated ATMs in Britain. The CMA also noted that there is only one other credible competitor supplying such ATMs (NCR), and there is limited prospect of other companies entering the UK market in the near future.

The merger has been cleared by competitions authorities in other countries, however the CMA notes that the competitive situation in the UK could differ from other countries, in relation to the number of providers and the barriers facing other companies trying to enter the market.

Diebold has been given until 26 August 2016 to offer new proposals to resolve the concerns identified. If the firm does not offer such undertakings or the CMA is unable to accept the offered proposals, the merger will be referred for an in-depth phase two investigation.

Sheldon Mills, senior director of mergers at the CMA, and the decision maker in this case, explained: “This merger would reduce the number of credible competitors in the market from three to two. Based on our initial investigation, this reduction in the number of credible bidders for the supply of ATMs could significantly reduce customers’ ability to obtain competitive bids. These concerns warrant an in-depth investigation which we will start shortly – unless the companies can offer undertakings to address these concerns.”

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