§ Mr. BerryTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what research his Department has undertaken into the effect on employment of mergers. [115517]
§ Dr. HowellsThe Department of Trade and Industry has not undertaken any research specifically on the employment effects of mergers. However, last year the Invest in Britain Bureau commissioned a study on the effects of acquisition of UK manufacturing companies by foreign investors. This included some analysis of the effects of foreign acquisition on employment. This report is available from the IBB.
§ Mr. BerryTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many mergers between UK companies have taken place in each of the last five years; how many of these mergers have been referred to him; and in how many of these mergers he has intervened. [115518]
§ Dr. HowellsThe annexe gives details of merger cases in the last five years.
Annexe—Merger Statistics 1995–99
1. Table 1 details the number of mergers that there have been between UK companies in the last five years.
Table 1: Mergers between UK companies Number 1995 505 1996 584 1997 504 1998 635 1999 492 Source:
Office for National Statistics
2. Strictly comparable figures are not readily available, but the number of merger cases (which includes mergers between foreign and UK companies) in the last five years on which the Director 187W General of Fair Trading (DGFT) has submitted advice to the Secretary of State on whether to refer them to the Competition Commission is given in Table 2.
Table 2: Mergers cases on which DGFT advised the Secretary of State Number 1995 203 1996 198 1997 186 1998 222 1999 220 3. Table 3: gives information on the Secretary of State's decisions in the light of the DGFT's advice. He could refer the merger to the MMC/Competition Commission (CC); ask the DGFT to seek undertakings in lieu of reference; or clear the merger without a reference.
Table 3: Secretary of State's decisions on advice from the DGFT 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Referred to the MMC/CC 9 13 10 8 10 Undertakings in lieu 2 4 1 3 4 4. Table 4: gives information on the Secretary of State's decisions in the light of the MMC/CC report. In all newspaper cases, and for other cases where the MMC/CC has found that the merger may be expected to operate against the public interest, the Secretary of State can allow the merger to proceed with no conditions; allow it to proceed under certain conditions; or prohibit it. In non-newspaper cases where the MMC/CC has found that the merger may be expected not to operate against the public interest, the Secretary of State can take no action on the merger.
Table 4: Decisions on mergers referred to the MMC/CC in each year 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Mergers referred 11 14 11 9 18 Cleared 5 4 4 1 7 Prohibited 3 6 2 4 0 Conditions 3 4 2 3 3 Set aside 0 0 3 1 4 Not yet published 0 0 0 0 4 Notes:
- 1. The number of mergers referred includes newspaper cases on which the DGFT does not give advice. This accounts for the discrepancy between the first rows of tables 3 and 4.
- 2. Although this table details decisions in the year in which the reference took place, the decision on a merger which has been referred is often taken in a year other than that in which the reference took place.