The merger is subject to approval by shareholders and by the relevant regulatory authorities. In this case, the proposed merger falls under the European Community merger regulation (the "ECMR") and as such all relevant decisions regarding the competition aspects of the case will be made by the European Commission.
Following the normal procedure, the Commission’s competition directorate will consult the Office of Fair Trading, Ofgem and others with relevant information about the affected markets before making a decision on whether the merger raises serious doubt as to its compatibility under the ECMR and thus require a more detailed consideration under ”phase 2”.
The timescale for this consideration is very tight. From the time of formal notification, the Commission will have 25 working days within which to make a decision about moving to phase 2 or to clear the case. OFT, Ofgem and any others who want to comment will have a much shorter time to make their views known to the Commission, so as to allow the Commission sufficient time to consider all views.
Ofgem encourages interested parties to express their views on the impact on competition to the European Commission. You may of course choose to copy us in. It is possible that we may seek views at a later stage to inform our advice to OFT and the Commission, but the timescales are likely to be very tight.
If you wish to know more about Ofgem’s role in the process or discuss the matter, please contact Andy Burgess, Head of Enforcement and Competition policy (020 7901 7159; Andy.burgess@ofgem.gov.uk ) or Chantal Abeynaike (020 7901 7369; Chantal.abeynaike@ofgem.gov.uk ).
In view of the time constraints, those who are likely to have views may wish to start their consideration of the proposed merger now, rather than wait for the short timescales allowed by the formal process.
