UK Competition Appeal Tribunal dismisses Tobii’s appeal

Tobii AB (publ) today comments on the latest events regarding the Smartbox acquisition. The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) today dismissed Tobii’s appeal concerning the required divestiture of Smartbox. In parallel to the appeals process, Tobii has maintained an ongoing divestiture process in line with the British Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA) initial decision.

CAT's decision means that Tobii's appeal regarding CMA's previous decision is rejected, and that Tobii shall reimburse some of CMA's process related costs, less than SEK 3 million.

“Tobii will now review the judgement and consider next steps. We will also continue with the divestment of Smartbox.”, says Henrik Eskilsson, CEO, Tobii Group.

For further developments in this matter, please see CAT's and CMA's websites.

Background
In October 2018 Tobii AB (publ) acquired Smartbox Assistive Technology Ltd, a UK based company operating in the field of assistive technology for communication.

Upon the announcement of the acquisition, the CMA opened an investigation under UK competition law. The two companies’ brands and operations have been held separate, pending the completion of the CMA’s review.

The CMA announced the final conclusions of its investigation on August 15 and required a full divestiture of Smartbox by Tobii. Tobii appealed the decision to the CAT.