The Competition Commission (CC) has blocked the proposed acquisition by BOC Limited (BOC) of the packaged chlorine business and assets of Ineos Chlor Limited (Ineos Chlor). The principal use of packaged chlorine is by the UK water industry for water disinfection. The CC has concluded that the acquisition would effectively be a merger and that the merger would reduce the number of competing distributors and would end the rivalry between BOC and Ineos Chlor, which are currently each other’s closest competitors in these markets. This would result in a substantial lessening of competition in the markets for the distribution of packaged chlorine in cylinders and in drums in the UK. After carefully considering alternative remedies, including those proposed by BOC and Ineos Chlor, the CC has concluded that prohibition of the merger is an effective and proportionate remedy, and that it is a lower-cost remedy than the alternatives considered.