Britain's antitrust regulator said that T&L Sugars's purchase of Tereos UK & Ireland's assets could result in higher sugar prices for UK shoppers.
T&L Sugars, which refines and distributes packaged sugar across supermarkets in the UK, under brand name Tate& Lyle bought Tereos' consumer facing operations in the UK and a distribution facility in West Yorkshire in November 2023.
The deal, if approved, would see two of the three sugar suppliers in the UK merge, leaving Associated British Foods' British Sugar as its only competitor, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said.
"The supply of sugar to grocery retailers in the UK is already highly concentrated. This deal would bring together two of the three players in the UK sugar sector, reducing competition and choice further for people and businesses," said Sorcha O'Carroll, senior director of mergers at the CMA, in a statement.
The deal could be referred to a deeper probe if the parties fail to offer remedies within five working days, CMA added.
Investment In Brazil
In February of this year, Tereos announced that it invested in recent months to increase its sugar production in Brazil in the new season that starts in April, although it sees a fall in the overall sugarcane crop in the country's Centre-South (CS) area.
The French food and energy company plans to make 2 million metric tonnes of sugar in Brazil in 2024/25 versus 1.9 million tonnes in 2023/24, as it will increase to 70% from 67% its total cane allocation for sugar production, according to the head of the Brazil unit, Pierre Santoul.
