OFT says merger did not reach 'relevant merger threshold'

SSP's acquisition of Sirius has been given the all clear by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) after a month-long investigation.

The OFT has the power to stop a take-over taking place if it finds that the combined company results in the “lessening of competition in the market”.

But the OFT has announced that the merger had been cleared because “it did not meet the relevant merger threshold”.

SSP announced its acquisition of Sirius in early May, creating the largest software solutions company for the insurance industry.

The combined turnover of both companies will be over £60m when the deal becomes legally binding on 6 July.

Some in the industry had suggested that the combined company would have had too high a market share, thought to be 45%.

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