Sika's MBCC acquisition delayed after UK inquiry launched

ZURICH (Reuters) -Sika said its acquisition of MBCC Group, the former BASF Construction Chemicals business, is expected to be completed later than expected after Britain's Competition and Markets Authority decided to conduct an in-depth examination of the market.

The closing of the 5.5 billion Swiss franc ($5.77 billion)deal is now targeted for the first half of 2023, rather than the previously expected end of 2022, Sika said on Wednesday.

"The adapted timeline will not impact the strategic attractiveness of the transaction," Sika CEO Thomas Hasler said in a statement.

"It remains highly accretive, and our expectation that it will generate annual synergies of 160–180 million francs is unchanged."

The Swiss construction chemicals company agreed to buy MBCC from an affiliate of private equity firm Lone Star Funds last November to boost its position in sustainable building.

The company has already received unconditional regulatory approval for the deal from a number of countries, including Japan, China, Brazil, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Thailand, Hasler said.

"For a transaction of this magnitude a detailed analysis is not unusual," he said.

($1 = 0.9533 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by John Revill; editing by Jason Neely)