OFT and CC Discuss Proposed Changes to UK Merger Regime

Both Peter Freeman, Chairman of the Competition Commission and Clive Maxwell, OFT Executive Director have shared their views on the Government's proposed changes to the UK merger regime launched on 16 March (see Community Week issue 513).

A central, and controversial, question within the mergers section of the BIS consultation document is whether the UK should move from its current voluntary merger notification regime to a mandatory system, with penalties for non-notification.

Clive Maxwell starts from the perspective that the current voluntary system strikes a reasonable balance between the various considerations at play. Although there may be downsides to the current system, taken overall, it achieves the bulk of its aims with a comparatively light regulatory footprint. This view is by and large backed by the business community. Initial opposition to a switch to a mandatory regime revolves around the grounds that (1) such a move would not be de-regulatory, (2)