Fray Bentos sale alleviates Princes-Premier merger concerns
The UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) accepted undertakings offered by Princes Limited to address competition concerns arising from its acquisition of Premier’s canning business. Under the terms of the undertakings, the Fray Bentos brand and its manufacturing assets will be sold to Baxters Food Group Limited.
“This merger would have led to a near monopoly in the provision of canned pies in the UK. However, the sale of the Fray Bentos brand to Baxters will restore pre-merger levels of competition for the benefit of consumers,” said Amelia Fletcher, chief economist at the OFT, and decision maker in the case.
“The OFT believes that Baxters, with its extensive experience in the sector, is a suitable purchaser for the business,” she added.
As a result of the sale, the merger will not be referred to the Competition Commission.
