Associated British Foods (ABF) has today (8 July 2026) announced that it has successfully completed its £75 million acquisition of Hovis from private equity firm Endless.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority has cleared Associated British Foods' (ABF) proposed deal to buy Hovis, following an in-depth Phase 2 investigation into the anticipated merger.

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally cleared the proposed merger between Associated British Foods’ (ABF) bakery business and Hovis across the whole of the UK, following additional analysis conducted as part of its Phase 2 investigation.