Shares in UK wholesaler Booker jumped today (14 March) after the UK’s Competition Commission indicated it is preparing to clear the group’s acquisition of Makro from Germany’s Metro Group.
The UK’s Office of Fair Trading had said the deal could potentially raise competition concerns in the wholesale market and referred the acquisition to the country’s Competition Commission last November.
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In a statement released this morning, Simon Polito, deputy chairman of the Competition Commission, said the UK wholesale market is “complex, diverse and dynamic”.
“Our evidence points to the fact that customers can and do switch between different types of wholesalers, so we looked closely at all the areas where Booker and Makro stores currently overlap to see what other sources of supply would remain. In all the areas we looked at, Booker would continue to face competition from national, regional or local wholesalers so we don’t believe customers will face higher prices, lower-quality service or other issues as a result of the merger,” he said.
The Competition Commission will now consider responses to its provisional findings before a final report is published.
Shares in Booker were up 7.67% at 2.30pm (GMT), climbing to a seven-year high of 124.9 pence.
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