Heineken’s planned purchase of Irish brewer Beamish & Crawford is to be subjected to a further investigation by the Competition Authority.
In a statement this afternoon the Authority said a preliminary inquiry had been unable to conclude that the sale of the brewer by Scottish & Newcastle.
The takeover is part of its joint takeover with Carlsberg of Beamish parent Scottish & Newcastle. The two brewing giants are dividing the assets of Scottish & Newcastle between them, with Beamish going to Heineken.
All aspects of the £7.8 billion deal, with the exception of the Irish element, have been approved by the European Commission.
As a result the Authority has started a phase two investigation into whether the takeover will damage competition.
It is understood that Heineken is arguing that its 17.5 per cent market share combined with Beamish's 8 per cent would results in a total of 25.5 per cent or about half the share of Guinness owner Diageo.
Parties can make submissions to the Authority until August 21st and it has set November 3rd as the date when it will announce its decision.