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 … Continue Reading

Merger control and minority investments

By Emma Jones, Marjorie Holmes and Vaibhav Adlakha on 8 July 2019 Posted in Government Investigations, Merger Control

A commonly held view is that merger control filings are not relevant for minority investments. On Friday, 5 July 2019, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it had issued an order to hold separate to Amazon.com Inc and Roofoods Ltd (trading as Deliveroo). We understand that Amazon had made an investment for … Continue Reading

Dawn Raids: Essential tips for preparation and response

By Marjorie Holmes, Edward Miller, Emma Jones and Vaibhav Adlakha on 10 May 2019 Posted in Antitrust Enforcement Agencies, Government Investigations

The EU Commission, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) or other sector regulators with competition powers may conduct unannounced onsite inspections of businesses if they suspect a breach of competition law through anti-competitive activity or conduct. These surprise inspections, often dubbed ‘dawn raids’, are employed to gather evidence in relation to suspected cartels. Such raids are … Continue Reading