CC review of Chairman’s Guidance on Disclosure of Information in Merger Inquiries and Market Investigations
Background
In July 2003 in anticipation of the CC’s new functions under the Enterprise Act 2002 (the 2002 Act) the CC published the Chairman’s Guidance on Disclosure of Information in Merger and Market Inquiries (CC7). The guidance was issued by the then Chairman of the CC under paragraph 19A (7) and (8) of Schedule 7 to the Competition Act 1998, following consultation with members and other appropriate persons.
The present guidance can be found here (PDF, 201 Kb) .
Since then, the CC has conducted several merger and market investigations and its practices have evolved as it has gained experience. The CC Chairman has therefore decided to update the guidance to reflect the experience gained and expanded the scope of the guidance to include reviews of undertakings and orders under the 2002 Act and the Fair Trading Act 1973. The revised guidance aims to provide a fuller explanation of the CC’s approach while retaining the necessary flexibility to handle disclosure of information according to the facts and circumstances of each case.
Among the changes in the guidance, are:
- More explanation of the CC’s approach throughout investigations, including referring to the remedies phases of merger and market investigations and remittal procedures
- Amendments to reflect current practices, noticeably the omission of the production of Emerging Thinking in market investigations and the introduction of annotated issues statements in both merger and market investigations
- Extension to the scope of the guidance to include reviews of undertakings and orders under the 2002 Act and the Fair Trading Act 1973
- Greater detail of practical aspects of handling confidential information (including reference to issues that typically arise in relation to survey and other data, use of data rooms and other methods of protecting information)
The CC seeks the views of all interested parties on this revised guidance to be sent to disclosureconsultation@cc.gsi.gov.uk by 30 November 2012. If you have any queries concerning the guidance or would like to discuss the issues raised, please either email using the mailbox above or contact Carole Begent on 020 7271 0254.
Chairman’s Guidance on Disclosure of Information in Merger Inquiries and Market Investigations –draft for comment (PDF, 310 Kb)
