Competition watchdog ponders Pennon remedies regarding Bristol takeover

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said it is considering undertakings offered by Pennon Group to address the adverse impacts of its acquisition of Bristol Water on Ofwat’s system of comparative regulation.

Last week, the CMA said there were “reasonable grounds for believing that the undertakings offered by Pennon, or a modified version of them, might be accepted by the CMA under the Water Industry Act 1991”.

The Authority ruled in December that the merger could prejudice Ofwat’s ability to make comparisons, and would be referred for a phase 2 investigation unless the parties offered acceptable undertakings to address the detriment.