The UK competition regulator has “reasonable grounds to believe” that the remedial measures offered by homebuilders Barratt and and Redrow may be accepted, paving the way for the completion of their proposed merger, it said on Wednesday.
Barratt agreed to buy Redrow in early February in a 2.52 billion pounds ($3.28 billion) all-stock deal.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) earlier this month raised competition concerns over one local area that contained four Barratt developments and a Redrow development that has fewer than 10 plots remaining to sell.
Earlier this week, Barratt said a condition by the regulator for the acquisition was waived to satisfy a legal completion, but the firms would remain separate until the watchdog clears the deal.
In a separate statement on Wednesday, Barratt said the regulator had until Oct. 18 to decide whether to accept the undertakings or a modified version of that provided by the companies.
Source: Reuters.com