The Office Of Fair Trading is worried about competition in sauce. Last summer Heinz announced plans to buy HP foods from Danon. The purchase would mean products such as Heinz tomato sauce, Lea & Perrins, Amoy and Daddies would all be under the one roof. And yesterday, the competition authorities were asked to take a look.
Vincent Smith, head of competition enforcement at the OFT, said: “As a result of the merger, retail customers and consumers could suffer from less competition resulting in higher prices for products such as HP brown sauce, tomato ketchup and baked beans.”
It’s thought the Heinz purchase of HP will result in job losses. HP Foods employs around 450 workers at factories, in Worcester, Aston Cross and Birmingham. Heinz employs 5,000 staff in Wigan, Leamington Spa and Estwick.
But Heinz appeared unconcerned by the OFT referral. And Jane Miller, head of Heinz UK & Ireland, said: “It is not unusual for acquisitions of this magnitude to be referred to the Competition Commission to ensure that any potential concerns are addressed.”
“Heinz is confident that this acquisition will meet the criteria for final clearance. This deal has already received approval from the merger authorities in Ireland and Germany.”
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