Pork Farms has said it is “disappointed” over the UK competition watchdog’s insistence the UK group must address “concerns” about its acquisition of Kerry Group’s savoury pastry assets.

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority said it is ready to launch an in-depth investigation into the deal unless Pork Farms “offers acceptable undertakings to address the competition concerns in a clear-cut manner”.

According to the CMA, there is a “realistic prospect” the acquisition, announced in August, would hit competition in areas including the supply of sausage rolls, pasties and slices.

Pork Farms insisted the transaction would benefit its customers and consumers.

“We continue to believe that the transaction will provide our customers with a streamlined, more responsive and better invested supply chain, reflecting the increasingly competitive retail landscape that we are seeing in today’s markets as consumers’ shopping habits change. Quality, choice, service and value have always been at the core of our business and this remains the case,” the company told just-food. “We will continue to work closely with the CMA in relation to the transaction to ensure that it has all necessary information to inform the review process.”

The CMA is ready to launch what it called an “in-depth phase two investigation”.

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Andrea Coscelli, executive director for markets and mergers at the CMA, said: “These are very popular products which are currently produced by a small number of manufacturers. This merger will further reduce the choice available to retailers and consumers and may give the merged company the ability to raise prices or reduce the quality of these products. Unless Pork Farms offers undertakings that resolve these concerns, we think it is necessary to investigate the merger in greater detail to see whether it could harm consumers’ interests.”