Anticipated merger between J Sainsbury Plc and Asda Group Ltd
Preliminary invitation to comment
On 30 April 2018, J Sainsbury PLC (Sainsbury's) and ASDA Group Limited (ASDA
and, together with Sainsbury's, the Parties) announced that they have entered
into an agreement to combine their operations (the Proposed Merger).
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will be considering whether it is
or may be the case that the Proposed Merger, if carried into effect, will
result in the creation of a relevant merger situation under the merger
provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002 and, if so, whether the creation of that
situation may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition
within any market or markets in the United Kingdom (UK) for goods or services.
The CMA is keen to ensure that all interested parties have the opportunity to
make their views known and present all relevant evidence to the CMA. The CMA
is therefore issuing this preliminary 'invitation to comment' asking all
interested parties to submit to the CMA any initial views on the impact that
the proposed merger could have on competition in the UK. Any such views should
be provided to SainsburysAsda@cma.gsi.gov.uk by no later than 5pm on Monday 4
June 2018.
This invitation to comment is the first part of the CMA's
information-gathering process, in advance of the CMA's formal investigation
starting. The CMA is also likely to proactively contact companies and
organisations that are active in the markets affected by the Proposed Merger,
or have valuable insights or evidence that could assist the CMA's
investigation, such as suppliers, competitors, industry bodies and consumer
organisations.
Further opportunities to engage with the CMA's investigation are likely to be
provided by a consumer survey (to engage directly with the customers) and by a
series of hearings and roundtable meetings with interested third parties.
All updates on significant case developments will be available on the CMA's
case page:
https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/j-sainsbury-plc-asda-group-ltd-merger-inquiry
Your name and contact details are your personal data. In collecting,
receiving, storing, accessing and using your personal data, the CMA, as
controller, is processing your personal data. The CMA processes personal data
in accordance with data protection law. The CMA is processing your personal
data so that it can contact you again, should it need further help or
information from you, in order to carry out its merger work under Part 3 of
the Enterprise Act 2002. For more information about how the CMA processes
personal data and your rights relating to that data, please see our Privacy
Notice at
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/competition-and-markets-authority/about/personal-information-charter
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange