Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Acquisition definition

What does Acquisition mean? In VAT practice, an acquisition is the cross-border purchase or movement of goods between EU Member States where the goods are removed to another Member State and VAT is self-assessed in the destination by the acquirer (acquisition VAT). The term is defined in VAT legislation (UK: Value Added Tax Act 1994, as modified for Northern Ireland by the Windsor Framework/NI Protocol; Ireland: VAT Consolidation Act 2010) and also covers certain transactions treated as supplies of goods, such as a trader’s transfer of own goods across borders. Jurisdictional scope: In Ireland, intra-Community acquisitions apply in full. In the UK, the rules...

UK CMA phase 2 merger inquiry: Thermo Fisher/Gatan (Roper) — provisional SLC in TEM peripherals (DD cameras, filters; vertical concerns); remedies floated; transaction abandoned, reference cancelled (2019)

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Practice notes

CASE HUB ARCHIVED

This archived case hub reflects the position at the date of the decision of 10 June 2019; it is no longer maintained. See further, timeline.

Case facts

UK merger investigation into the proposed Acquisition by Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc of Gatan Inc, a wholly owned Subsidiary of Roper Technologies Inc. Gatan’s technologies support materials science, Electronics and life sciences by enabling electron microscopy workflows—from specimen preparation and manipulation through to imaging and analysis. These platform‑agnostic solutions include filter systems, cameras and proprietary software.

Latest developments

On 10 June 2019, the parties dropped the deal. On the same day, the CMA cancelled the merger reference.

Parties

Thermo Fisher Scientific (Thermo Fisher): An American biotechnology product development company headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, formed in 2006 through the merger of Thermo Electron and Fisher Scientific. Thermo Fisher manufactures, amongst other things, high‑tech electron microscopes used for scientific research.
Roper Technologies Inc (Roper): A technology company headquartered in Sarasota, Florida, providing engineered products and solutions for global niche markets, including software information networks, medical, water, energy and transportation.
Gatan Inc (Gatan): Gatan...

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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