diff --git a/mercurial/transaction.py b/mercurial/transaction.py
--- a/mercurial/transaction.py
+++ b/mercurial/transaction.py
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 from .i18n import _
 from . import (
     error,
+    pycompat,
     util,
 )
 
@@ -612,7 +613,7 @@
         lines = fp.readlines()
         if lines:
             ver = lines[0][:-1]
-            if ver == str(version):
+            if ver == pycompat.bytestr(version):
                 for line in lines[1:]:
                     if line:
                         # Shave off the trailing newline