BWG Foods, the wholesaler behind brands such as Spar, Eurospar, Mace, Londis and XL, informed the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) that it intends to acquire Tuffy Wholesale Ltd, based in Co Sligo.

Employing 48 people, Tuffy is a member of Stonehouse Marketing Limited and Gala Retail Services Ltd.

The proposed transaction will be the third undertaken by BWG in recent years where it buys out a wholesaler member of the Stonehouse and Gala.

Takeover

The takeover of 4 Acres wholesale in 2018 was only allowed to progress once BWG agreed to divest 4 Acres’ shareholding in Stonehouse.

In November of last year, the CCPC made a similar ruling in the case of McCarrick Brothers Wholesale in Longford. Again, McCarrick was a shareholder of Stonehouse and Gala and, again, BWG agreed not to acquire the shareholding of Gala and Stonehouse.

While there is no guarantee of how the CCPC will rule in this case, the recent track record suggests it will allow the transaction to go ahead once BWG agrees not to take any interest in Gala or Stonehouse.

For Gala and Stonehouse, the loss of another wholesaler member to BWG has to be a cause for concern.