Last week the UK competition authorities asked the EC Commission to consider the UK competition aspects of the proposed merger between GE Engine Services, a subsidiary of General Electric, and the US aircraft manufacturer Unison Industries. Although the transaction does not qualify under the Merger Regulation thresholds, a joint referral was made to the Commission by the competition authorities in France, Germany, Spain and the UK under article 22(3) of the Merger Regulation. The Director General of Fair Trading was concerned that the merger may have an impact on markets that extend beyond the UK, and the authorities in the other Member States also wanted the Commission to consider the case in as far as it impacts on their markets.
