Judgment of the Tribunal on an application pursuant to section 120 of the Enterprise Act 2002 by Stericycle International LLC, Stericycle International Limited and Sterile Technologies Group Limited for judicial review of a decision of the Competition Commission, made under section 81 of the Enterprise Act, to impose certain arrangements, in particular the appointment of a “hold separate manager”, pending the outcome of an inquiry into a completed merger of the businesses of Stericycle International Limited and Sterile Technologies Group Limited.
The applicants had earlier applied to the Tribunal for interim relief but that application had been stayed generally upon the Competition Commission agreeing not to enforce its decision prior to receiving a report from a Monitoring Trustee also appointed pursuant to the Competition Commission’s decision.
The appellants challenged the decision on the basis that it was beyond the scope of the Competition Commission’s powers under section 81 and that it was disproportionate or unreasonable.
The Tribunal held that the Competition Commission had acted reasonably and within its considerable margin of appreciation under section 81 in deciding to appoint a hold separate manager to ensure the separation of the businesses during its inquiry.
