Research and analysis

Assessment of merger control decisions in digital markets

Evaluation of past merger decisions in the UK digital sector.

Documents

Details

As part of its continual evaluation programme, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) commissioned Lear to review past merger decisions in the digital sector. The review focuses on:

  • how competition authorities generally assess potential competition theories of harm in digital mergers
  • whether the assessment in 4 digital merger clearance decisions was reasonable based on the evidence available at the time
  • evaluating the market evolution following these mergers

In its review Lear makes recommendations for best practice when considering these issues in future.

The CMA has launched a call for information on digital mergers inviting interested parties to provide views on aspects of the Merger Assessment Guidelines.

Published 3 June 2019