EDM 1446: Acquisition of food manufacturer Bakkavor by Greencore

That this House notes its concerns following the agreement in principle from shareholders of Bakkavor, a major food manufacturer which employs almost 14,500 workers across the UK, to an acquisition deal from rival food giant Greencore which itself employs 13,600 workers across the UK and Ireland; further notes that the shareholders are already said to be assessing synergies, which all the recognised trade unions at the processing and distribution sites of both companies, including BFAWU, GMB and Unite, fear spells closures and job losses; also notes that the resulting entity would have a combined turnover of £4 billion per annum and would significantly concentrate the market in the supply of supermarket ready meals and other products to the potential detriment of consumers; and therefore calls on the Competition and Markets Authority to subject the deal to a phase two investigation under the Enterprise Act 2002 into whether the deal may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition, and hence run counter to the public interest.