The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has green lighted
The competition watchdog approval for the deal follows the CMA’s announcement in April this year that it would consider in detail a remedy proposed by Breedon to resolve competition concerns arising from the proposed acquisition, instead of referring the case for an in-depth merger investigation.
Now the CMA has accepted Breedon’s offer to sell 14 ready-mixed concrete sites where it competed directly with Hope as a major supplier. These sites have been bought by Tarmac and the Concrete Company.
Before reaching a final decision, the CMA consulted publicly on the proposed remedy but said they received no submissions that raised any further merger-specific concerns.
Reacting to the CMA’s go ahead for the Hope acquisition, Breedon’s chairman, Peter Tom CBE said: “The way is now clear for Hope to join us and create the UK’s largest independent construction materials group.
“This will give us a stronger platform for growth, with a broader geographical footprint, increased scale, an improved product mix, greater financial capacity and a team of highly talented people.
“We have built our reputation on our service, delivered locally, promptly and to the highest quality standards. We look forward to working with our new colleagues to deliver an even better and more comprehensive service to our customers in the years ahead.”
As indicated in Breedon’s interim results announcement on 21 July 2016, the company now intends to complete the acquisition of Hope on 1 August 2016, when it will become – under its new post-acquisition name of Breedon Group plc – Britain’s largest independent construction materials group. The merged business will operate more than 200 ready-mixed concrete sites across England, Scotland and Wales.
