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* UK's CMA invites comments on deal before Sept. 29
* Mitie struck deal for rival Interserve's support services
arm
* Transaction voluntarily referred to CMA - Mitie
(Adds companies' comments, background)
Sept 15 (Reuters) - Britain's competition regulator is
investigating whether a deal between outsourcing firms Mitie
Group and Interserve for the latter's facilities
business could reduce competition in the sector.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Tuesday
it was inviting interested parties to offer their comments
before Sept. 29 on the agreement, which was announced by Mitie
in June.
"The transaction was voluntarily referred to the CMA for
clearance and we are working closely with the CMA to progress
the process," a spokesperson for Mitie said in an e-mailed
statement. Interserve declined to comment.
The 271-million-pound deal ($349 million) in cash and shares
was seen as Mitie flexing its financial muscle to scale-up in
Britain's contract-services industry, which has been through a
turbulent few years, with the pandemic adding to its woes.
The company manages and maintains some of London's
best-known landmarks, and works with the likes of Britain's NHS,
the police and the Bank of England. The deal would increase
Mitie's sales by around 50%.
Interserve, one of the British government's biggest
contractors, went into administration in March last year after
it ran into difficulty following a string of ill-advised
acquisitions and loss-making contracts.
It offers support services, equipment and construction
services to public and private sectors.
($1 = 0.7769 pounds)
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil
D'Silva, Kirsten Donovan)
