Rentokil Initial’s purchase of Mitie Pest Control has been green-lit by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), following their investigation.

The CMA has announced that it had: “accepted undertakings in lieu of reference for the completed acquisition by Rentokil Initial plc of MPCL Limited (formerly Mitie Pest Control Limited).”

Rentokil Initial announced in October 2018 that they would be purchasing Mitie’s pest management arm for £40m in cash. However, there were concerns that the deal would result in the UK’s pest control marketplace having reduced competition. The CMA launched an investigation which has been ongoing for 10 months.

To address the CMA’s concerns, Rentokil agreed to divest contracts that related to pest control services for customers of MPCL, across eight or more UK regions. As such, the CMA has now agreed to allow the acquisition to be completed.