THE competition watchdog yesterday defied the literary fraternity by ruling that a takeover of book seller Ottakar's by HMV would not harm choice or quality.
The Competition Commission said it was provisionally giving a green light for HMV to make a fresh bid, despite appeals from the Society of Authors and the Publishers Association that consumers and the book industry would suffer.
The watchdog said it did not see any grounds for fears it would be anti-competitive.
Diana Guy, who led the inquiry, said: "In the few locations where Waterstone's and Ottakar's stores are close together, we found the range of books and quality of service were similar to their stores located in other areas."
It is unclear what a merger would mean for towns that have both shops in close proximity.
In Darlington, Waterstone's opened a store on High Row, opposite the Ottakar's shop within the Cornmill Centre. In Harrogate, both booksellers have sites on James Street, in the city centre.
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