Sainsbury’s deal for Argos owner Home Retail approved by competition regulator
The competition regulator has given the green light to Sainsbury’s £1.4bn acquisition of Home Retail Group, first submitted in February.
Argos and Sainsbury's look to finalise the deal
The group owns Argos, Habitat and Heart of House having sold DIY retailer Homebase to Wesfarmers for £340m earlier this year, greatly expanding Sainsbury's offering.
On Friday morning (22 July), The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ruled that the transaction did not substantially lessen competition in the UK.
It released a statement reading: "The CMA has decided, on the information currently available to it, not to refer the following merger to a Phase 2 investigation."
Each company issued a joint statement reading: "The boards of Sainsbury’s and Home Retail Group welcome today’s announcement by the CMA that it has unconditionally cleared the acquisition following its Phase 1 investigation."
The Financial Conduct Authority and Home Retail shareholders now have until Wednesday 27 July to finalise the deal.