Diebold Nixdorf has announced that it will sell its legacy business in the UK in order to meet the regulatory requirements to complete the Wincor Nixdorf acquisition.
In its investigation, the UK Competition and Market Authority (CMA) has concluded that the Diebold Nixdorf merger needs a ‘structural remedy’.
Diebold Nixdorf said that it in talks with a potential purchaser to sell its legacy Diebold business in the UK.
It said: “The company believes it can satisfy the CMA's requirements and conclude this transaction as soon as practicable.”
In August last year, Diebold completed its acquisition of Wincor Nixdorf after securing approval from shareholders and regulatory authorities around the world. But, in the UK, the Diebold and Wincor Nixdorf brands and operations continued to remain separate awaiting an approval from the CMA.
In the same month, CMA referred the $1.8 billion Diebold/Wincor merger for an in-depth investigation due to unresolved competition issues.
Later, a group of independent panel members CMA provisionally found that the merger risks a substantial lessening of competition (SLC) in the market for the supply of customer-operated ATMs in the UK.
The competition watchdog said that is concerned that the market for customer-operated ATMs is highly concentrated, with only 3 significant suppliers.
In December last year, CMA said: “Evidence provided to the inquiry suggests that, outside of NCR, there is a weak competitive constraint on the merged companies.”
Under the terms of the merger, which was announced in November 2015, the combined company was planned to be named as Diebold Nixdorf, with headquarters in North Canton and Paderborn, Germany.
Image: Diebold Nixdorf said that it in talks with a potential purchaser for the sale. Photo courtesy of Competition and Markets Authority.