The Competition Bureau recently announced that it has entered into a consent agreement with Béton Provincial to address competition concerns from its acquisition of the Québec-based concrete operations of CRH Canada Group Inc. 

The Bureau’s review concluded that the proposed transaction would likely result in a substantial lessening of competition for the supply of ready-mix concrete (RMC) in the Laurentides. This would come as a result of the loss of rivalry between CRH’s RMC plant in Mont-Tremblant and Béton Provincial’s RMC plants in Piedmont and Saint-Jérôme. The Bureau concluded that there is an insufficient number of alternative suppliers and that barriers to entry for new competitors are high in this market.

The consent agreement requires Béton Provincial to sell CRH’s RMC plant in Mont-Tremblant, along with associated operating assets (i.e. mixer trucks), employees and customer contracts.  The sale will be made to an independent purchaser to be approved by the Commissioner of Competition.

The Bureau is satisfied that the sale will resolve the competition concerns arising from the proposed transaction.

The consent agreement is available on the website of the Competition Tribunal.

• On December 19, 2023, Béton Provincial and CRH entered into a definitive agreement whereby Béton Provincial would acquire CRH’s cement and ready-mix concrete operations and certain aggregates operations in Québec
• Béton Provincial’s headquarters are located in Québec City. It operates concrete production assets, including pre-cast concrete plants, RMC batch plants and quarries for aggregates, in Québec, Ontario and New Brunswick.
• CRH is a diversified construction and building supply company with operations across Canada.
• A consent agreement contains remedial measures meant to address the likely anti-competitive effects of a merger. It has the force and effect of a court order once it is registered with the Competition Tribunal.

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