Compass Lexecon advises in Turnitin/Ouriginal merger cleared unconditionally in all relevant jurisdictions

Turnitin, an international provider of non-instructional educational software completed its acquisition of Ouriginal (incorporating Urkund and PlagScan). Both companies are active in the sale of anti-plagiarism software.

The completion of the transaction comes after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (“ACCC”) cleared the acquisition, concluding the ACCC’s 5 month-long investigation and follows unconditional approvals by the National Commission on Markets and Competition (“CNMC”) in Spain and the Competition Markets Authority (“CMA”) in the UK, as well as inquiries from other national authorities.

Compass Lexecon assisted the Parties throughout the merger review process before the CMA, CNMC and the ACCC. The authorities assessed whether the transaction may result in a reduction in competition where the companies have high combined market shares and are particularly close competitors, with preliminary concerns over barriers to entry. They concluded, among other things, that recent entrants into the provision of anti-plagiarism software were likely capable of scaling and exerting a competitive constraint on the combined entity.

Compass Lexecon analyzed market shares and tender data, as well as switching patterns and barriers to entry and expansion to help the Parties address the authorities’ concerns over the potential effects of the transaction on competition.

The Compass Lexecon team led by Lorenzo Coppi included Angelos Stenimachitis with the assistance of Justice Yennie, Vicky Britton and Pasi Mawalage. We worked with global counsel Juan Rodriguez and Suzanne Marton of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, as well as with counsel from Uría Menéndez in Spain and King & Wood Mallesons in Australia.

Compass Lexecon has experience in providing economic expertise in some of the most high-profile multi-jurisdictional merger proceedings in the world. Our economists, based in the United States, Europe, Middle East, South America and Asia-Pacific, work seamlessly together to provide cohesive economic analysis and support to the multiple teams of internal and external legal advisors involved in global transactions. Over the last ten years, Compass Lexecon has advised in over 100 jurisdictions and our experts’ language capabilities extend our market coverage even further.