Pennon wins CMA clearance for Bournemouth Water Deal

Pennon Group has received unconditional clearance from the Competition and Markets Authority for its acquisition of Bournemouth Water and the subsequent merger of Bournemouth Water with South West Water.

The utility infrastructure company said South West Water aims to merge the two businesses by the end of 2015/16 and in doing so will adopt a new licence for the combined entity.

The operational integration of the two businesses will be complete by the end of 2016/17.

Chris Loughlin, executive director of Pennon and chief executive of South West Water, said: “We will now set about merging Bournemouth Water with South West Water to deliver service improvements and efficiencies for customers and shareholders.”

At 1100 GMT, Pennon shares were down 0.9% at 810p.