IN BRIEF: AB Foods-Hovis merger clears Northern Ireland hurdle

Associated British Foods PLC - London-based food, ingredients and retail group - UK Competition & Markets Authority publishes an interim report on its probe into the planned acquisition of bread maker Hovis Group Ltd, through subsidiary ABF Grain Products Ltd. AB Foods announced the proposed merger in August, after a strategic review of its Allied Bakeries business. The CMA's inquiry group provisionally concludes that the merger may not be expected to result in a substantial limiting of competition in Northern Ireland for suppliers of bread and certain other bakery products.

The regulator says it will now seek feedback on the supplementary interim report and intends to make its final decision by June 24. Says the deadline for comments on the proposed merger is Thursday next week, May 28. Previously, in late March, the CMA said it had provisionally found that the deal would threaten competition in Northern Ireland. AB Foods noted that the regulator "recognised that, if the transaction is not allowed to proceed, Allied Bakeries will be unable to continue operating under current market conditions."

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By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter

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