diff --git a/codec/src/main/java/io/netty/handler/codec/DefaultHeaders.java b/codec/src/main/java/io/netty/handler/codec/DefaultHeaders.java
index 805b9e414c..b80a99f77c 100644
--- a/codec/src/main/java/io/netty/handler/codec/DefaultHeaders.java
+++ b/codec/src/main/java/io/netty/handler/codec/DefaultHeaders.java
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@
  */
 package io.netty.handler.codec;
 
-import io.netty.util.collection.CollectionUtils;
 import io.netty.util.collection.IntObjectHashMap;
 import io.netty.util.collection.IntObjectMap;
 import io.netty.util.concurrent.FastThreadLocal;
@@ -1147,7 +1146,7 @@ public class DefaultHeaders<T> implements Headers<T> {
         // because we want to force the keyComparator to be used for all comparisons
         List<T> namesList = namesList();
         List<T> otherNamesList = h2.namesList();
-        if (!CollectionUtils.equals(namesList, otherNamesList, keyComparator)) {
+        if (!equals(namesList, otherNamesList, keyComparator)) {
             return false;
         }
 
@@ -1156,7 +1155,7 @@ public class DefaultHeaders<T> implements Headers<T> {
         Set<T> names = new TreeSet<T>(keyComparator);
         names.addAll(namesList);
         for (T name : names) {
-            if (!CollectionUtils.equals(getAll(name), h2.getAll(name), valueComparator)) {
+            if (!equals(getAll(name), h2.getAll(name), valueComparator)) {
                 return false;
             }
         }
@@ -1164,6 +1163,31 @@ public class DefaultHeaders<T> implements Headers<T> {
         return true;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Compare two lists using the {@code comparator} for all comparisons (not using the equals() operator)
+     * @param lhs Left hand side
+     * @param rhs Right hand side
+     * @param comparator Comparator which will be used for all comparisons (equals() on objects will not be used)
+     * @return True if {@code lhs} == {@code rhs} according to {@code comparator}. False otherwise.
+     */
+    private static <T> boolean equals(List<T> lhs, List<T> rhs, Comparator<? super T> comparator) {
+        final int lhsSize = lhs.size();
+        if (lhsSize != rhs.size()) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        // Don't use a TreeSet to do the comparison.  We want to force the comparator
+        // to be used instead of the object's equals()
+        Collections.sort(lhs, comparator);
+        Collections.sort(rhs, comparator);
+        for (int i = 0; i < lhsSize; ++i) {
+            if (comparator.compare(lhs.get(i), rhs.get(i)) != 0) {
+                return false;
+            }
+        }
+        return true;
+    }
+
     @Override
     public int hashCode() {
         int result = 1;
diff --git a/common/src/main/java/io/netty/util/collection/CollectionUtils.java b/common/src/main/java/io/netty/util/collection/CollectionUtils.java
deleted file mode 100644
index b9e11044c4..0000000000
--- a/common/src/main/java/io/netty/util/collection/CollectionUtils.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,52 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2014 The Netty Project
- *
- * The Netty Project licenses this file to you under the Apache License, version 2.0 (the
- * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a
- * copy of the License at:
- *
- * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License
- * is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express
- * or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under
- * the License.
- */
-package io.netty.util.collection;
-
-import java.util.Collections;
-import java.util.Comparator;
-import java.util.List;
-
-/**
- * Provides utilities for the primitive collection types that are not supplied by the JDK
- */
-public final class CollectionUtils {
-
-    private CollectionUtils() { }
-
-    /**
-     * Compare two lists using the {@code comparator} for all comparisons (not using the equals() operator)
-     * @param lhs Left hand side
-     * @param rhs Right hand side
-     * @param comparator Comparator which will be used for all comparisons (equals() on objects will not be used)
-     * @return True if {@code lhs} == {@code rhs} according to {@code comparator}. False otherwise.
-     */
-    public static <T> boolean equals(List<T> lhs, List<T> rhs, Comparator<? super T> comparator) {
-        final int lhsSize = lhs.size();
-        if (lhsSize != rhs.size()) {
-            return false;
-        }
-
-        // Don't use a TreeSet to do the comparison.  We want to force the comparator
-        // to be used instead of the object's equals()
-        Collections.sort(lhs, comparator);
-        Collections.sort(rhs, comparator);
-        for (int i = 0; i < lhsSize; ++i) {
-            if (comparator.compare(lhs.get(i), rhs.get(i)) != 0) {
-                return false;
-            }
-        }
-        return true;
-    }
-}