The Competition and Markets Authority has cleared Admiral Taverns’ takeover of the Hawthorn pub business.
The competition watchdog launched an investigation into the deal last year but on Friday it said it had accepted undertakings given by Admiral and as a result would not be referring the acquisition for an in-depth probe.
Admiral Taverns agreed last year to buy the Hawthorn pub business for £222m in cash from parent company NewRiver. The transaction will see it take control of nearly 700 pubs across the UK.
