Merger control: a view from the departure lounge
By
17 Mar 2011, Speaker: Peter Freeman at the BIICL 9th Annual Merger Control Conference
Introduction
This conference has struck a fairly careful balance between issues of merger analysis and the institutional reform issues now the subject of public consultation.
This is very wise. People get excited about institutional reform but it is important to remember that, even with the best will in the world, it will be two years before any new combined authority gets established and in the meantime it is business as usual.
In this context the substantive topics covered today are very relevant. The new joint guidelines issued in the USA and the UK have drawn attention to issues such as the significance to be attached to market definition, to use of pricing predictions in horizontal mergers, particularly at retail level, to the significance of minority shareholdings, etc, etc. These matters generate great interest among competition specialists and will continue to do so; and when they abate, other equally interesting issues will doubtless emerge to replace them.
But I hope we can all agree that the common objective in all this is to produce a system of merger control—whether at regional or at national level—which enables the right cases to be decided in the right way with the appropriate level of scrutiny within a reasonable time.
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