Boparan Holdings has agreed to sell its Avana christmas pudding unit to Sargents Bakeries to settle competition concerns over its acquisition of Brookes Avana from Premier Foods plc.

In January, the Office of Fair Trading indicated it would investigate the impact that the Avana acquisition would have on competition in the UK’s Christmas pudding category.

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If the deal went ahead, 2 Sisters Food Group owner Boparan would have controlled two of the UK’s largest Christmas pudding makers. In 2011, Boparan also took control of the Christmas pudding company Matthew Walker through its acquisition of Northern Foods.

In a statement released yesterday (25 October), the OFT said it was satisfied the sale of Avana Christmas puddings to Sargents would assuage competition concerns.

The competition watchdog added it will not refer the Brookes Avana acquisition to the Competition Commission.

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