Heineken NV’s planned purchase of 1,900 Punch Taverns Plc pubs is being reviewed by Britain’s antitrust regulator, which will consider whether the deal would give the brewer too much control of the U.K.’s bars.
The Competition and Markets Authority said in a statement Feb. 16 it is seeking comments on the transaction from any interested party to help with this assessment. The standard first-phase investigation was started after U.K. regulators received jurisdiction over the case from their counterparts at the European Union, according to CMA spokesman Rory Taylor.
The CMA set a March 2 deadline for comments and said it ...