The Competition Bureau says the Competition Tribunal has dismissed the regulator’s challenge of Parrish & Heimbecker’s acquisition of a grain elevator in Virden, Man. from Louis Dreyfus Co. (LDC).
In its decision, the tribunal says the regulator did not prove that the acquisition would lessen competition substantially in the markets for the purchase of wheat and canola in the area around the elevator.
The bureau had filed an application in December 2019 for an order requiring P&H to sell either its elevator in Moosomin, Sask. or the former LDC elevator in Virden.
It said the two elevators had been close competitors along a 180-kilometre stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway.
In seeking the order, the regulator says before the acquisition the two elevators monitored each other’s wheat and canola prices and responded to competitive activity by offering farmers better prices.
The bureau says it is disappointed by the tribunal ruling and is reviewing the decision to determine the next steps.