This is the first in a series presenting statistics on UK merger control relevant to companies engaged in UK merger investigations by the Competition and Markets Authority.

To kick off, here’s a figure on the proportion of cases that the CMA has ended up clearing unconditionally (i.e. without any strings attached) – either at Phase or after an in-depth Phase 2 investigation.

The percentage of UK merger final decisions announced over the past year that has been for unconditional clearance of the merger has been:

68%

This is well above its historic low and back up to the level last seen in the spring of 2019.

It remains slightly below the average clearance rate across all CMA cases to date.

The average clearance rate can, of course, be a misleading guide to prospects for individual mergers.

A more insightful question to ask at the right time in a specific case is how mergers with similar features have fared.

(Posted September 14th 2021)