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The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is proposing to accept remedies following its investigation into Vandemoortele’s deal to buy Délifrance.

The merger deal, announced earlier this year, would see Vandemoortele become the largest supplier of frozen viennoiserie products in the UK by a considerable margin.

Both companies supply these products, such as crossaints and pains au chocolat, to customers across the retail and foodservice channels. They are supplied ready for baking by customers in their in-house bakeries, before being sold or served to consumers.

The UK’s competition watchdog raised concerns about the acquisition in early December, citing a realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition in the UK market for frozen laminated dough products.

Its Phase 1 investigation found that the deal could potentially lead to higher prices for consumers in the UK due to the lessening of competition.

To resolve these concerns, the companies have offered to sell Délifrance’s UK viennoiserie business, together with two production facilities in Avignon and Béthune, France, with the capacity to supply all of the frozen viennoiserie products currently sold into the UK by Délifrance.

These assets would be sold to a purchaser to be approved by the CMA. Yesterday (22 December 2025), the CMA said it has considered the proposal and believes these remedies could resolve the competition concerns. It will now consult on the package and the potential purchaser.

Sorcha O’Carroll, senior director for mergers at the CMA, commented: “Our initial investigation found that this deal could have led to higher prices or reduced quality for supermarkets and foodservice customers across the UK, so we welcome steps taken by the businesses to address our concerns”.

“By offering to sell the relevant Délifrance UK business together with two production facilities to an approved purchaser, we believe this will protect choice and maintain quality, helping ease the pressure on businesses and the households they serve.”

The European Commission recently approved the merger deal following its own independent invesigtation, on the condition that the companies comply with the commitment to sell the two production sites in France.

It concluded that the capacity and actual production volumes of the plants to be divested would be enough for a suitable buyer to exercise sufficient competitive pressure on the merged entity.