§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will refer to the European Commission the transfer of assets from GPA to General Electric of the United States of America for consideration under the merger control regime.
§ Mr. Neil HamiltonThe purchase of certain assets of GPA by General Electric did not fall within EC merger control jurisdiction. Following the advice of the Director General of Fair Trading, based on the information available to him, my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade announced that he had decided not to refer this merger to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission on 20 October.