The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA) has approved the acquisition of 21 elderly social service units from Humana Finland by the Mehiläinen Group, contingent upon the sale of Hoivakoti Joutsenkulma Oy, a nursing home in Varkaus, to a suitable buyer.

The FCCA's investigation focused on the competitive implications of this acquisition, particularly in the Varkaus area where Mehiläinen already has a significant presence in health and social services. The acquisition includes 19 residential care units, with 15 dedicated to elderly housing and four for elderly mental health rehabilitants, along with two units for home care and nursing services.

Concerns were raised about the potential for Mehiläinen to gain a dominant position in the round-the-clock residential care market for the elderly in Varkaus, reducing the number of private service providers to just three. This would make Mehiläinen an unavoidable partner for the welfare region.

However, the FCCA found no significant competition issues in other regional markets for elderly or mental health services. The authority noted that while the social services market is concentrated in various parts of Finland, the current acquisition would not substantially increase market concentration elsewhere.

To address the competition concerns, Mehiläinen and Humana have committed to selling Hoivakoti Joutsenkulma Oy to a third party. This sale is crucial to maintaining a competitive market structure in Varkaus, as the acquisition cannot proceed until a binding agreement with the buyer is in place and approved by the FCCA.

The FCCA believes that these commitments are adequate to mitigate the competition issues arising from the acquisition and to preserve a competitive environment in the market.

The decision by the FCCA includes business secrets, and the full details will be published once these have been redacted.