UK Merger Control

This book provides a definitive statement of the law relating to UK merger control following the wide-ranging changes to the merger control system introduced by the Enterprise Act 2002. The powers of the Secretary of State for Trade & Industry have been transferred to the independent competition authorities and political decision-making has been mostly removed from the system. Both the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission have fundamentally changed their procedures to reflect their new powers, and an appeal by way of judicial review now lies to the Competition Appeal Tribunal rather than to the High Court. * Presents a detailed analysis of the new regime - the regulatory bodies, their new powers and how the system works * An essential guide to obtaining clearance for a merger in the UK today * Includes coverage of the impact of the important IBA Health judgments * Analyses all OFT and Competition Commission guidance on procedures, substantive tests, and penalty provisions * Explains in layman's terms the theory and methodology of the economic assessment of mergers * Examines the relationship of the UK merger rules with the reformed EC Merger Regulation * Considers changes to judicial control of mergers, in particular the new role of review by the Competition Appeal Tribunal * Extensive appendices include a fully conformed copy of the Enterprise Act 2002 and summaries of MMC Competition Commission reports from 1986 to date