UK Regulator Clears ABF-Hovis Deal Without Conditions, Signaling New Approach to Grocery Mergers

Britain's Competition and Markets Authority approved Associated British Foods' £150 million purchase of Hovis on 16 June 2026 without requiring divestitures or restrictions. The clearance reverses the authority's recent pattern—it blocked Sainsbury's-Asda in 2024, citing similar market concentration concerns. The decision suggests regulators may be reconsidering how strictly to police grocery-sector consolidation, reshaping how dealmakers assess future transactions.