This week, the UK’s competition watchdog announced that it plans to call off a full investigation of Clayton Dubilier & Rice‘s acquisition of UK supermarket chain Morrisons after the New York-based firm agreed to sell petrol stations owned by existing portfolio company Motor Fuel Group. The Competition and Markets Authority had raised concerns that the takeover could lead to a loss of competition and increased fuel prices, as the two companies own competing petrol stations in the same areas.
The development effectively clears the last major hurdle for the largest PE-backed take-private in the UK for several years. The £7 billion deal was the main course in a buffet of UK-listed assets enjoyed by PE investors in 2021, which garnered 15 take-privates worth around $25 billion in total, according to PitchBook data. Furthermore, PitchBook’s Q1 European PE Breakdown shows that this represents more than half of overall European PE take-private activity.
UK take-privates have been more subdued in 2022. The biggest deal completed so far this year is Triton‘s £1.3 billion take-private of Clinigen Group, a specialist pharmaceutical service company, in April. Across Europe, a recent public market sell-off could yet spur take-private activity as pricing becomes more attractive, but that will likely be tempered by the fact that a broader European recession could mean overall PE deal activity falls from its previous record levels.
Read more: Q1 2022 European PE Breakdown
Featured image by Leestat/Getty Images
Learn about our editorial standards.
