Associated Bakeries’ takeover of Hovis will go ahead without having to sell or close its Northern Irish business, pending final clearance from the CMA.
The CMA inquiry group investigating the merger had previously found competition concerns in Hovis’ market presence in Northern Ireland, despite clearing the deal in Great Britain.
At the time, it was of the opinion that there might be an alternative buyer for the troubled Allied Bakeries’ NI business that could have kept it in operation – and thus in competition with the acquired NI Hovis business.
But since publishing its findings, the CMA has dug deeper into Allied Bakeries’ financial performance in Northern Ireland, and heard from potential buyers of the business.
Having considered the evidence, the CMA has now decided Allied’s NI business would have had to close had the merger not gone ahead – thus lessening competition in the market anyway.
The inquiry group has therefore provisionally found that the merger may not “substantially lessen” competition in Northern Ireland in the supply of plant bread, pancakes, potato farls and soda farls.
The “substantial lessening” of competition is the CMA’s key legal test for whether remedies, such as divestments or closures, are required to allow a merger through.
The CMA has now invited final comments from the industry on its provisional decision, under a 28 May deadline. It will then make a final decision on the merger by 24 June 2026.
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