U.K. set to join global retreat from trust-busting
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British antitrust regulators are preparing to loosen their grip on merger approvals, after years of post-Brexit tightening.
Why it matters: This would mirror what's expected in both the United States and European Union.
Driving the news: Sarah Cardell, who's led the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority since 2022, yesterday said in a speech that CMA will launch a review of its merger review process.
- Specifically, CMA wants to determine if it can more often favor behavioral remedies (i.e., pricing promises) over structural remedies (i.e., divestitures).
- This comes weeks after new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer argued that CMA was restricting the country's economic growth and innovation, although Cardell says the review was planned previously.
Zoom in: CMA was criticized in some quarters for its efforts to block Microsoft's takeover of video game maker Activision Blizzard, which it eventually approved.
- More recently it approved Google's investment in Anthropic without an in-depth review, and is expected to insist on behavioral remedies in an approval of Vodafone's tie-up with Three UK.
By the numbers: U.K. M&A activity is up 57% year-over-year, hitting nearly $160 billion, according to LSEG. Just over half of that activity is cross-border.
- The $160 billion is inclusive of $61.4 billion in private equity-backed deals, which is up 88% year-over-year.
The bottom line: The global wave of increased antitrust enforcement is waning.
