Upmarket notebook maker Moleskine’s owner and Bugatti distributor, Belgian group D’leteren, will buy Irish car components distributor Top Part Holdings after regulators cleared the deal.
Autodistribution SAS, one of the Brussels-based specialist investor’s businesses, recently bid for Top Part Holdings Ltd and five linked companies.
Mergers regulator, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), said on Wednesday that it had cleared the deal.
“The commission has formed the view that the proposed transaction will not substantially lessen competition in any market for goods or services in the State,” said a statement.
D’leteren refused to comment. It confirmed the bid for Top Part earlier this month after the CCPC announced that the parties had notified the regulator of the proposed deal.
The Belgian group owns 90 per cent of PHE, of which Autodistribution is a part. The organisation runs motor parts distribution businesses in six western European countries.
Tralee Co Kerry-headquartered Top Part Holdings has 21 outlets across the State supplying auto components to the motor trade and car owners.
Run by chief executive Donal Dillane, it is one of the better known businesses in its industry.
The latest accounts filed for Top Part Holding Ltd show that liabilities exceeded assets by more than €770,000 in December 2023.
Amounts due to other group companies accounted for €2.3 million of its total short-term liabilities of €2.8 million. It owed trade creditors €113,000.
Staff numbers grew to 46 in 2023 from 41 the previous year.
Top Part Holdings provides management and administrative services to several linked companies in auto parts distribution, according to the CCPC.
D’leteren has significant motor trade interests. D’leteren Automotive is Volkswagen’s official distributor in Belgium and also distributes Bugatti, Bentley, Lamborghini and Porsche, among others there.
The group has shares in vehicle glass repair specialist, Belron, and materials handler, TVH, which have Irish businesses. Its spokeswoman noted there was no overlap between those operations and Top Part.
D’leteren bought Moleskine in 2016.
Four of the Top Part companies it is buying, Yenom Ltd, Partway Auto Factors Ltd, Kingdom Motor Factors Ltd and Kingdom Properties Ltd distribute spare parts.
A fifth, Synergy Vehicle Refinishing Solutions Ireland Ltd, sells mostly to accident repair businesses.
Irish law requires parties to acquisitions or mergers to notify the CCPC where their turnovers in the previous financial year were €10 million or more, or the combined turnover of the businesses is €60 million or more.
