Review of structural merger undertakings given before 1 January 2005

The CMA reviewed structural merger undertakings.

From:
Competition and Markets Authority
Published
10 February 2016
Last updated
23 March 2016 — See all updates
Case type:
Reviews of orders and undertakings
Case state:
Closed
Market sector:
Agriculture, environment and natural resources, Building and construction, Distribution and service industries, Electronics, Engineering, Financial services, Food manufacturing, Healthcare and medical equipment, Household goods, furniture and furnishings, Motor industry, Oil and gas refining and petrochemicals, Paper printing and packaging, Pharmaceuticals, Recreation and leisure, Retail and wholesale, Telecommunications, Textiles, Transport, Utilities
Opened:
26 March 2015
Closed:
23 March 2016

Case timetable

Date Action
September 2015 to March 2016 Publish decisions on Enterprise Act 2002 remedy reviews
October 2015 Publish decisions on Fair Trading Act 1973 remedy reviews
July to October 2015 Advise the Secretary of State on whether to retain, vary, supersede or release the Fair Trading Act 1973 undertakings
July to October 2015 Publish provisional decisions whether to retain, vary, supersede, or release the Enterprise Act 2002 undertakings
May to June 2015 Consideration of written submissions and other evidence
30 April 2015 Closing date for responses, for requests of written submissions or evidence on the review

Final decisions on 2 EA02 merger remedies

23 March 2016: The CMA has decided to retain the undertakings in the remaining 2 EA02 structural merger remedies. This completes its review of the 76 merger remedies outlined in March 2015.

Decisions on 12 EA02 merger remedies

10 February 2016: The CMA has decided to remove 6 and retain 4 EA02 structural merger remedies.

It has also decided not to pursue the review of one remedy and is consulting on its provisional decision to retain one further remedy.

Consultation on provisional decisions on 10 EA02 merger remedies

18 December 2015: The CMA is consulting on its intention to remove 6 and retain 4 Enterprise Act 2002 (EA02) structural merger remedies.

It has also decided not to pursue the review of 2 further remedies. Further provisional decisions will follow on the remaining remedies in due course.

Final decisions on 18 EA02 remedies

18 December 2015: The CMA has decided to remove 10 and retain 8 EA02 structural merger remedies.

Further final decisions will follow on the remaining remedies in due course.

Consultation on provisional decisions on 20 EA02 merger remedies

18 November 2015: The CMA is consulting on its intention to remove 10 and retain 10 Enterprise Act 2002 (EA02) structural merger remedies.

It has also concluded that 5 more remedies have lapsed and has decided not to pursue the review of 2 further remedies.

Further provisional decisions will follow on the remaining remedies in due course.

Final decisions on 13 EA02 remedies

18 November 2015: The CMA has decided to remove 11 and retain 2 EA02 structural merger remedies.

Further final decisions will follow on the remaining remedies in due course.

Consultation on provisional decisions on 13 EA02 merger remedies

15 October 2015: The CMA is consulting on its intention to remove 11 and retain 2 Enterprise Act 2002 (EA02) structural merger remedies. Further provisional decisions will follow on the remaining remedies in due course.

BIS decision

On 14 October 2015, the CMA advised the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) to remove all 7 extant Fair Trading Act 1973 (FTA) structural-only merger remedies. On 29 October, BIS confirmed it has released the relevant parties from all 7 remedies.

Consultation on provisional advice

On 23 September 2015 the CMA consulted on its intention to advise BIS to remove all 7 extant FTA structural-only merger remedies. No comments were received.

Our 26 March announcement listed 22 FTA remedies. However, we concluded that:

  • the 2 Mills and Allen and Avenir Havas Media – Brunton Curtis remedies should be treated as one
  • undertakings in the Carlton – United News Media case were proposed but never entered into
  • the William Hill – Grand Metropolitan case turned out to be an Enterprise Act 2002 one
  • the Rockware – United Glass undertakings were removed in 2006.

Of the remaining 18 remedies, we have concluded that 11 have lapsed and we intend to advise BIS that the other 7 should be removed. If this recommendation is accepted, there will be no FTA merger remedies left.

We’re continuing to review all old structural Enterprise Act merger remedies. We intend to announce provisional decisions on these in October 2015.

Decision to undertake review

26 March 2015: The CMA plans to review structural merger undertakings given before 1 January 2005. The decision document below lists the remedies to be reviewed.

Inquiry group appointed

26 March 2015: The members of the group are:

Simon Polito (Chair), Anne Lambert and Philip Marsden.

Published 10 February 2016
Last updated 23 March 2016 + show all updates

  1. Final decisions on 2 merger remedies published.

  2. Decisions on 12 merger remedies published.

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