(Reuters) -Britain’s competition regulator said on Monday the proposed 1.2 billion pound ($1.61 billion) merger of convenience food manufacturer Greencore and peer Bakkavor might harm competition in the supply of own-label chilled sauces.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the combined entity would become one of the largest suppliers of chilled sauces in the UK, with only two other competitors, 2 Sisters Food Group and Billington Foods, providing a material constraint, though both are weaker rivals.
The regulator, however, cleared the deal in Italian chilled ready meals and salads markets where it found sufficient competition would remain.
“We are now working with the CMA and Bakkavor for the benefit of all our stakeholders to complete the Bakkavor transaction early next year,” Greencore CEO Dalton Philips said in a statement.
Greencore and Bakkavor have until November 3 to offer remedies to address the CMA’s concerns, with both companies expressing confidence they remain on track to complete the transaction in early 2026.
($1 = 0.7451 pounds)
(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
