Finnish competition authority conditionally clears Saferoad’s acquisition of Cleanosol

Compass Lexecon assisted Saferoad, a Nordic European supplier of road safety and infrastructure solutions, during proceedings in front of the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (‘FCCA’) related to Saferoad’s intended acquisition of Cleanosol and Tiemerkintä A & E, two providers of road marking services in Finland. After an in-depth investigation, the FCCA conditionally approved the transaction in May 2026.

Situation

The Saferoad Group is a Norwegian company that provides road marking services in Finland and other European countries. In September 2025, it announced its intention to acquire Cleanosol Oy and Tiemerkintä A & E Oy, two providers of road marking services in Finland.

Our role

We assisted Saferoad and its external counsel Frontia during merger review by the FCCA. We conducted analyses related to market definition, market shares, and public sector bidding market. Moreover, we estimated merger efficiencies and developed an economic model for the assessment of potential competitive effects in an investment-price competition framework. The FCCA opened an in-depth investigation in December 2025 to further assess specific competition concerns in the market for Finnish road marking, particularly regarding public tenders awarded by the Economic Development Centres and by municipalities.

Outcome

In early May 2026, the FCCA approved the transaction after a Phase II investigation, conditional upon Saferoad leaving Tiemerkintä A & E outside the transaction and divesting its current road marking business in Finland to Tiemerkintä A & E.

The team

The Compass Lexecon team was led by Pekka Sääskilahti, and included Lotta Väänänen, Salvatore Piccolo, Janne Kinnunen, Eero Nurmi, and Teresa Hakala. They worked closely with Saferoad’s external counsel Frontia, led by Mikael Wahlbeck, and including Susanna Kyllöinen and Oona Pakarinen.