PRESS: UK government to announce overhaul of merger probes? Sky News
The UK government will unveil plans this week for an overhaul of the way company mergers are scrutinised, Sky News reported Sunday.
The Department for Business & Trade is set to announce the abolition of the Competition & Markets Authority’s panel system, under which independent experts convene to gauge whether corporate deals raise serious anti-trust concerns.
Citing a UK government source, Sky said the CMA’s ability to examine some types of mergers, such as those involving two foreign companies, could be curtailed under new limits on its jurisdictional powers.
Further, the CMA’s practice of wide-ranging market investigations into entire industries will be changed, Sky reported, with the CMA’s market studies and market investigations processes merger into a single procedure which lasts between six and 12 months.
UK Business & Trade Secretary Peter Kyle is due to attend the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, which takes place from Monday to Friday, where he could announce the plans, Sky said.
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