Leading global law firm Baker McKenzie has advised Bidvest Group on the acquisition of Citron Hygiene.
Citron Hygiene is a provider of washroom hygiene products and services with a customer base that spans the manufacturing, hospitality, facilities management, education, commercial and healthcare sectors. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Citron Hygiene serves approximately 50,000 customer locations from seven branches in Canada, four in the USA and ten in the UK.
The transaction was conditional upon clearance from the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
Consistent with the CMA’s approach to other transactions in this sector in recent years, the CMA conducted a thorough review of the activities of Bidvest Group (via phs) and Citron Hygiene, which ultimately resulted in an unconditional clearance decision on 6 March 2025. Given the CMA’s previous interest in this market and the material overlap between phs and Citron Hygiene in the UK, this outcome is a significant achievement for the parties.
Working closely with the Bidvest and phs leadership teams, the Baker McKenzie team comprised:
- Corporate: Lydia Shadrach-Razzino (Partner, Johannesburg), Tanya Seitz (Associate, Johannesburg).
- Antitrust: Samantha Mobley, Anthony Gamble (Partners, London), Zareenah Rasool, Imogen Green and Ryan McGrath (Associates, London) with support from Lerisha Naidu (Managing Partner, Johannesburg), Angelo Tzarevski (Partner, Johannesburg), Sphesihle Nxumalo and Jarryd Hartley
(Associates, Johannesburg).
Lydia Shadrach-Razzino said about the transaction that:
“We are pleased once again to work with our longstanding and valued client, Bidvest, on this high-profile transaction. With closing of the transaction, Bidvest has taken a leap forward in securing its strategy of expansion in the high-growth washroom markets in Canada and the US.”
Commenting on the CMA clearance decision, Samantha Mobley said:
“This is an excellent outcome following a lengthy and complex UK Phase 1 investigation. In the face of intense scrutiny, we are delighted to have assisted Bidvest in securing unconditional approval for this acquisition. This transaction showcases the ability of Baker McKenzie’s London competition practice to represent clients successfully in the most challenging cases.”
Johannesburg Managing Partner, Lerisha Naidu, added:
“We are delighted to have worked with Bidvest again and are thrilled to have assisted in achieving such a fantastic result for them. The successful outcome demonstrates Baker McKenzie's ability to deploy cross-border collaboration between our global antitrust practices to great effect.”