§ Lord Graham of Edmontonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will include in the scope of their review of competition policy the question of conditional disposals in contested take-over bids, wherein a bidder might attempt to sell off a part of the target company without its consent in order to avoid a reference to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission; and whether they intend to refer Dixon's bid for Woolworth Holdings to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission in the light of Dixon's proposed conditional disposal of Comet.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Lucas of Chilworth)Within the present legislative framework, each merger proposal is considered individually in all its aspects (including any plans for disposals) by both the Director General of Fair Trading and my right honourable friend the Secretary of State. There is no presumption that such disposals are objectionable: each case is considered on its own merits.
114WAMy right honourable friend will make his decision on whether to refer to the MMC the proposed takeover of Woolworth Holdings by Dixons Group in the light of advice from the Director General of Fair Trading.
The general question of disposals will be considered in the review which my right honourable friend announced on 5th June.