What does the Competition and Markets Authority’s decision to impose a 10-year ban on the Sainsbury’s/Asda merger suggest for the future of UK competition law?

The recently proposed Sainsbury’s/Asda merger would have combined the second- and third-largest UK supermarkets. The merger would also have created the largest retailer of fuel by volume in the UK. The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decided to step in and concluded that the prohibition of the merger was the only way to go. Most importantly, however, is the 10-year ban imposed by the CMA on the parties’ attempting a similar deal in the future. Read our alert where we review the CMA’s decision and its powers, and consider the future for UK competition law.