Mobile home market: the Autorité clears the acquisition of Bio Habitat by the Trigano group

The parties to the transaction

The Trigano group is mainly active in the manufacture of leisure vehicles (motorhomes and caravans), as well as in the manufacture of leisure accommodation for the outdoor accommodation industry (mobile homes and light leisure dwellings such as lodges), notably through the operation of two production sites in France, located in Mamers (72) and Valence (26). Trigano primarily operates in France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and Sweden.

Bio Habitat, a subsidiary of the Bénéteau group, manufactures leisure dwellings, including mobile homes and lodges, for the outdoor accommodation industry, under the O’Hara, IRM, Coco Sweet and, in Italy, BHI brands. Bio Habitat operates six production sites in France, located in Beaucaire (13), Givrand (85), La Chaize-le-Vicomte (85), Lesquin (59), Lézignan-Corbières (11) and Sainte-Hermine (85), as well as a production site in Bologna, Italy.

Following the transaction, Trigano will have exclusive control of Bio Habitat and its subsidiary Bio Habitat Italia.

The Autorité ruled out any risk of harm to competition in the mobile home market

The Autorité interviewed a number of players in the sector as part of its investigation. Some expressed concern about the impact of the transaction on competition in the French mobile home market, particularly in view of the Trigano group’s significant market share and the dense national network of its production sites after the transaction.

After carefully examining the potential effects of the transaction on the French mobile home market, the Autorité noted that the Trigano group would face competition from three major players, two of which have recently invested in their production facilities. The Autorité considered that the competitive pressure exerted by those players, and the production capacities available in the market, would prevent the new entity from using its newly acquired position to raise prices permanently.

The Autorité also found that, following the transaction, Trigano would have a greater number of production sites than its main competitors, which would enable the group to sometimes offer lower delivery costs than its competitors, particularly in south-eastern France. A survey of the parties’ main competitors showed, however, that its competitors are able to deliver their mobile homes to every region of France at competitive rates, and thus exert effective competitive pressure throughout the country.

Following its competitive analysis, the Autorité therefore cleared the transaction without conditions.