LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s competition regulator on Wednesday launched a consultation on the use of remedies to alleviate competition concerns in mergers, reflecting its new approach that aligns with the government’s aim to boost economic growth.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), like other antitrust regulators, has historically preferred structural remedies, such as forcing merging companies to sell parts of their businesses, rather than behavioural remedies which could include commitments on pricing.
The CMA said in November it would rethink its approach on remedies in order to allow more deals to go ahead, while only focusing on “truly problematic mergers”.
It said on Wednesday it was seeking views on when behavioural remedies might be appropriate, how they could preserve competition and be assessed as quickly and efficiently as possible.
The CMA also launched a “Mergers Charter” that sets outs how it will engage with businesses and their advisers during merger reviews and what it expected from businesses in return.
Its call for evidence in the consultation is open until May 12.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle and Muvija M; Editing by Sachin Ravikumar)
