The Competition and Markets Authority said on Friday that it does not intend to further review Pennon Group’s acquisition of Bristol Water Holdings under the Enterprise Act 2002, stating the deal would not lead to a lessening of competition, based on information currently available to it.
However, the UK watchdog did note it was still mulling over whether or not it should refer the deal for a phase 2 investigation under the Water Industry Act 1991.
Back in October, the CMA vowed to look into the deal in order to see if it would prejudice the UK water regulator Ofwat’s ability to make comparisons between water enterprises.
The CMA set itself a deadline of 22 December for its phase 1 decision.
Pennon originally announced the deal in June, with the group purchasing snapping up Bristol Water for an equity value of £425.0m and an enterprise value of £814.0m, including assumed debt.
As of 0845 BST, Pennon shares were up 0.85% at 1,210.22p.
