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The UK Competition & Markets Authority on Friday said it will investigate the planned takeover of Redrow PLC by Barratt Developments PLC.
In February, Coalville, England-based Barratt Developments agreed an all-share takeover offer for its smaller Ewloe, England-based peer, valuing Redrow at £2.52 billion.
Redrow shares were down 0.1% at 696.50 pence each on Friday morning in London, giving it a market capitalisation of £2.30 billion. Barratt shares fell 1.4% to 493.23p each, with a market cap of £4.80 billion.
The CMA said the investigation will assess whether the creation of that merger may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition within any markets in the UK for goods or services.
‘To assist it with this assessment, the CMA invites comments on the transaction from any interested party,’ the watchdog said, with invitation to comment closing on June 28.
The CMA has a deadline of August 8 for its phase 1 decision.
The CMA had considered investigating the planned takeover in March, after the all-share takeover was announced a month earlier. Housebuilders have already attracted the attention of the CMA. In February, the regulator said it found ‘fundamental concerns’ within the UK housebuilding market, and launched an investigation into eight housebuilders, including Redrow and Barratt.
Publishing its final report on the housebuilding market which followed a year-long study, the CMA found that ‘the complex and unpredictable planning system, together with the limitations of speculative private development, is responsible for the persistent under delivery of new homes’.
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