Britain's competition watchdog confirmed today it had given the green light for HMV Group to make a fresh bid for bookstore chain Ottakar's.
"The merger would not lead to a substantial lessening of competition in the market for the retail sale of new books to consumers in any part of the UK," the Competition Commission said in a statement.
HMV originally made a 440p per share bid bid for Ottakar's in September that valued the bookseller around £97 million (€142 million), but the offer lapsed when the takeover was referred to the regulator. The delay may have been to HMV's advantage.
HMV, which itself recently rejected two offers from private equity group Permira, is now unlikely to have to pay such a high price for the 130-strong bookstore chain, with analysts speculating that an offer will be tabled around the 360p mark.
Ottakar's, whose management made a 400p buyout offer in conjunction with Phoenix Equity Partners that effectively sparked the original HMV bid in August last year, said it welcomed the commission's decision.
Shares in Ottakar's were up 5 per cent in early trade at 335p, to value the firm around £74 million, while HMV was down 0.4 per cent at 176p, putting the business around £711 million.