§ Mrs. Ann Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his Department's policy towards the conditional disposal of assets proposed in takeover bids of British companies by overseas concerns.
§ Mr. HowardThe current policy on references of merger proposals to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission is that they are made primarily on competition grounds, but under the Fair Trading Act 1973 each qualifying merger proposal is considered individually on its own merits. Any proposals for the conditional disposal of assets would be included in this consideration, but there is no presumption that such disposals are intrinsically objectionable, whatever the nationality of the bidder.