CMA Launches Consultation On Proposed Changes To De Minimis Exception In UK Merger Control Regime

The UK Competition and Markets Authority ("CMA") has a duty to refer a transaction for an "in depth" phase 2 investigation in instances where it believes that there is a realistic prospect of a transaction resulting in a "substantial lessening of competition", subject to certain exceptions. This includes a de minimis exception in markets of "insufficient importance", where the costs involved in investigating the transaction would be disproportionate to the size of the market concerned.

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On 23 January 2017, the CMA launched a public consultation on possible changes to the de minimis exception. The proposed changes would increase the upper threshold for markets considered to be sufficiently important to justify a merger reference from £10 million to £15 million, and would raise the lower threshold for markets not considered to be sufficiently important from below £3 million to below £5 million.

In instances where the size of the market falls between these two thresholds, the CMA would continue to evaluate, on a case-by-case basis, the potential harm of...