TOP NEWS: CMA launches inquiry into planned Shaftesbury, CapCo merger

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The UK Competition & Markets Authority on Friday announced the launch of a merger inquiry into Capital & Counties Properties PLC and Shaftesbury PLC.

The CMA said it is considering whether a merger between the two companies would result in ‘a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the UK’.

Shaftesbury is a London-focused real estate investment trust. CapCo is a property firm with investments in London’s West End, Covent Garden and Shaftesbury.

The CMA said the merger inquiry has a deadline of February 22 for its phase 1 decision.

In June, the two companies agreed final terms for their all-share merger to create a London-focused property investor with a combined portfolio value of £5.0 billion, with the deal previously slated for completion in the first quarter of 2023.

The combined company will be called Shaftesbury Capital PLC.

Shaftesbury shares were down 1.1% 356.78 pence per share on Friday morning in London, while CapCo shares rose 1.1% to 103.30p per share, and were up 0.4% at R 21.34 each in Johannesburg.

By Harvey Dorset, Alliance News reporter

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