Hain Celestial has been given the green light to sell its UK own-label freshly squeezed fruit juice business to the owner of the Sunmagic juice and smoothie brand by deal regulators.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) warned the UK arm of Hain in May it faced an in-depth investigation into its acquisition of Orchard House Foods if it did not sell off parts of the business.
The deal watchdog has today (22 September) accepted the sale of the own-label fruit juice business to Multiple Marketing Ltd, which has more than 30 years of experience in the UK fruit juice industry, primarily producing from concentrate and not-from concentrate juices. It also owns the Sunmagic brand and is a shareholder of another supplier of own-label fruit juice, Fruitapeel.
The CMA investigated if there were additional competition worries thrown up by the sale to Multiple Marketing. After contacting customers of Hain and Orchard, it has decided to give the deal the all clear.
It brings to an end months of talks and investigations into the takeover of Orchard House. The CMA was worried the merger would lead to higher own-label fruit juice prices for supermarkets and shoppers after it decided the companies were the only two own-label suppliers to supermarkets in the £112m market.
Hain agreed to buy Orchard House from Wellness Foods in December in a move to make its portfolio healthier.
No comments yet