UK OFT clears Home Retail Group acquisition of Focus stores
The OFT has cleared the acquisition by Home Retail Group (which owns the Homebase chain of DIY stores) of 27 Focus stores, subject to the divestment of a store in one of the 12 overlap areas identified. While accepting that the deal raised no antitrust concerns at the national level, the OFT was concerned that the acquisition might result in consumer detriment in the areas of local overlap. However, as a result of specific evidence on the local overlap areas, and a strong failing firm case in relation to certain stores, a divestment was only required in Woking. The OFT has also used the Decision to set out its approach to local competition issues in retail mergers more generally. Diana Jackson, Ian Small and Jack Fanning of CRA's London office worked on the transaction.
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