Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 26, 2026
2 min readLast updated: March 26, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleUK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has raised competition concerns over AB Foods’ £70–75 million Hovis acquisition in Northern Ireland, while provisionally clearing the deal in Great Britain due to risk of Allied Bakeries closure.
(Corrects hyperlink in paragraph 5)
March 26 (Reuters) - Britain's competition regulator on Thursday flagged competition risks in Northern Ireland over Associated British Foods' acquisition of rival Hovis, while provisionally clearing it in Britain after finding ABF's Allied Bakeries would otherwise close.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said in an interim report that an alternative buyer would have kept the business competing with bread maker Hovis in Northern Ireland.
The regulator also found that Allied Bakeries - which owns the Kingsmill brand - would shut down if the merger did not proceed, meaning competition between the two bakery suppliers would be lost in Great Britain regardless of the deal's outcome.
"We will continue to engage constructively with the CMA, including with regard to our Northern Ireland business, so that we can achieve regulatory clearance as efficiently as possible," ABF said in a statement.
Primark-parent ABF, which also owns the Kingsmill, Allinson's, and Sunblestbrands, announced its deal to buy 135-year-old Hovis for an undisclosed sum in August last year.
The companies have until April 9 to submit a remedy proposal to address the CMA's concerns around the supply of plant bread, pancakes, potato farls and soda farls in Northern Ireland.
(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Sumana Nandy)
The UK watchdog is scrutinizing Associated British Foods' acquisition of Hovis.
The deal raises competition concerns in Northern Ireland according to the UK watchdog.
Yes, the acquisition has been provisionally cleared in Great Britain.
Allied Bakeries would otherwise close if the deal did not proceed.
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