Britain’s competition watchdog announced its provisional approval of the deal for T&L Sugars to buy Tereos UK & Ireland’s retail sugar business. T&L Sugars, known for refining and distributing packaged sugar to UK supermarkets, completed the purchase of Tereos’ consumer-facing operations and a distribution facility in West Yorkshire in November 2023, reports Reuters.
The Competition and Markets Authority began an in-depth investigation of the deal in March amid concerns the transaction could boost sugar prices for UK consumers. “We have provisionally found that the most likely outcome is that Tereos’ UK retail business would have closed, absent the deal with TLS and on this basis, we have provisionally decided to approve the merger.
The regulator said that, without the merger, the exiting Tereos’ UK retail business will take out competition in the market. This means that continuous trading under T&L Sugars is quite desirable for the competitive backdrop.
