"The UK's Competition and Markets Authority seems to have found both its voice and its teeth," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. He said Rentokil is likely to dispute this initial verdict, but boosting market share "is a way of sustaining profitability, at least some of which will be achieved through pricing". Mould went on: "Rentokil can't hang about if it wants to salvage the deal given it faces a more in-depth probe if it can't address the concerns within a couple of weeks." Looking across the market, he said the CMA's more interventionist trend, "suggests companies may have to consider their acquisition strategies carefully in the future to save wasting valuable management time and money on deals which are likely to attract the CMA's ire".