Clause 20 - Duty to make references in relation to completed mergers
Enterprise Bill
11:00 am
Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire, Conservative)
I am grateful to my hon. Friend. It is sometimes difficult to think such things through theoretically in the absence of particular cases, and I cannot immediately think of a particular case to illustrate his point. However, if he was referring to circumstances in which a dominant participant in the market were seeking to take over any of a number of smaller companies operating in the same market, although the dominance test would clearly apply directly, I think that substantial lessening of competition would also be relevant. Substantial does not necessarily mean large in scale in relation to the market. If it is perfectly clear that a market has less than good competitive features already, the further reduction of what competition there is in that marketplace would reasonably be interpreted as a substantial lessening of competition. It would be very difficult for a dominant company seeking to extend its dominance to argue that that was not the case. However, I am glad that my hon. Friend has prompted me to pursue that matter—
It being twenty-five minutes past Eleven o'clock, The Chairman adjourned the Committee without Question put, pursuant to the Standing Order.
Adjourned till this day at half-past Two o'clock.