CMA Clears ABF-Hovis Merger Without Remedies, Reversing Recent Grocery-Sector Precedent

The UK Competition and Markets Authority cleared Associated British Foods' £150 million acquisition of Hovis on 16 June 2026, imposing no structural or behavioral conditions despite the merged entity's combined strength in branded and own-label wrapped bread. The unconditional clearance after a Phase 2 inquiry signals a shift from the authority's recent pattern of requiring divestitures in grocery-supply consolidations—most notably the blocked Sainsbury's-Asda merger. M&A advisers will be recalibrating deal strategies on that basis.