Mortgage Brain merger in doubt after OFT move
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Mortgage Brain is considering retracting its offer for rival sourc-ing system TrigoldCrystal because of the costs involved in pursuing the acquisition through the Com-petition Commission.
Mortgage Brain revealed last December that it was in discussions with the board of TrigoldCrystal and had agreed terms to buy the business for £6.8m.
But last week the Office of Fair Trading said it was referring the proposed acquisition to the CC because it is concerned the merger would lead to Mortgage Brain being too dominant.
Ali Nikpay, senior director at the OFT, says: “A significant number of customers are concerned about the potential impact that the proposed transaction will have on prices, innovation, investment and choice.
“We believe this is an appropriate case to refer to the CC for a fuller investigation.”
But Mark Lofthouse, chief exec-utive officer of Mortgage Brain, says he is disappointed by the dec-ision and is reconsidering the bid for TrigoldCrystal.
He says: “We will decide in the coming weeks whether we will go through the CC. The legal costs for going through the CC can be excep-tionally high.
“While disappointed, we respect the OFT’s decision and would like to thank all our customers and busi-ness partners for their support and feedback throughout this process.”
If Mortgage Brain does decide to go through the CC it will not make a ruling until September 1.
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