The UK’s Office of Fair Trading has announced that its has cleared the acquisition by leading UK grocery retailer Tesco of 45 smaller grocery stores in the London area from Adminstore.
“Although the proposed acquisition would, if completed, result in a relevant merger situation, the OFT does not believe, that it is or may be the case that the merger would give rise to a substantial lessening of competition within any market for goods or services in the UK. The merger will therefore not be referred to the Competition Commission,” the OFT said in a statement.
The OFT said it had investigated the effects of this merger on national, regional and local competition in relevant grocery markets, but found no competition concerns.
“Third parties raised concerns about Tesco’s existing size and potential for future growth, but these are not significantly affected by this merger,” the OFT said.
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