The Irish Competition Authority (ICA) has cleared the proposed acquisition of department store Arnotts by the Canadian owner of Selfridges and Brown Thomas.
The deal will see holding company, Wittington Investments, the holding company for both The Weston Group and Selfridges Group, bid to purchase €140m worth (£115m) worth of loans owed by Arnotts to Ulster Bank, the Irish Times reported.
The ICA said that it has carried out an intensive and extended investigation, obtaining the views of competitors, suppliers, and concessionaires, and a survey of 500 customers of Arnotts.
“Based on the evidence and information obtained through this investigation, the Authority has formed the view that the proposed transaction will not lead to a substantial lessening of competition in any markets for goods or services in the state,” the ICA said.
In its submission to the ICA, The Weston Group said it would invest and develop the 170-year-old store and its ‘peripheral properties’.
The other half of the business is now owned by investment group Apollo Management, which the Irish Times said took on EUR230 million worth of Arnotts loans from Irish Bank Resolution Corporation. The ICA also gave this transaction the green light yesterday.