Britain clears Greencore, Bakkavor's $1.6-billion food group merger (updated)
17/12/2025 07:48
Updates with potential merger closing date and background from paragraph 2 onwards Dec 17 (Reuters) - Britain's competition regulator has cleared the proposed 1.2-billion-pound ($1.61 billion) merger between convenience food manufacturers Greencore GNC.L and Bakkavor BAKK.L on Wednesday, scrapping an in-depth probe into the companies. The Competition and Markets Authority, which launched its probe into the deal in September, said it had accepted undertakings from the companies to address its competition concerns. Bakkavor's retail customers include Tesco TSCO.L, M&S MKS.L and Waitrose, while Greencore supplies to all major UK supermarkets. In a separate statement on Wednesday, Greencore and Bakkavor said the deal is now expected to be completed by January 16. Upon completion of the deal, Greencore shareholders will hold roughly 56% of the combined entity, while Bakkavor shareholders are expected to own the remaining 44%. ($1 = 0.7473 pounds) (Reporting by DhanushVignesh Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Sherry Jacob-Phillips) ((DhanushVignesh.Babu@thomsonreuters.com))