Competition Commission Moves Toward Compulsory Small Merger Notification If Requirements Are Met

The Competition Commission (the "Commission") has released proposed amendments to its guidelines to small merger notification, which are set to take effect after 7 June 2021. The guidelines have been introduced to address the Commission's concerns regarding the increasing acquisitions of new innovative companies by established players, particularly in the digital markets. Due to the general timing of the acquisitions, which often occur at the early stages of a small business's entry into the market, these acquisitions tend to escape regulatory scrutiny. The concern is that potentially anti-competitive transactions often slip through the cracks in this way as the target firms have not yet generated sufficient turnover to trigger merger notification in terms of the relevant thresholds.