§ Mr. Hoodasked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) if he will list the cases in which Her Majesty's 707W Government have withdrawn from the Monopolies and Mergers Commission mergers referred for its consideration, as from 1979;
(2) in what cases of proposed mergers a referral to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission can be withdrawn.
§ Mr. MaudeMy right hon. and noble Friend has no powers, under the Fair Trading Act 1973, to withdraw a merger or proposed merger from consideration by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission once he has referred it to the commission. However under section 75 of the Act, if, in the course of its investigations on a merger reference, it appears to the commission that a merger proposal has been abandoned it may, if the Secretary of State consents, lay the reference aside. Since 1979 the following merger references have been laid aside:
Proposed Merger Date of reference Grand Metropolitan Hotels Ltd./Coral Leisure Group Ltd. 17 October 1980 Argyll Foods Ltd./Linfood Holdings Ltd. 10 November 1981 Rowntree Mackintosh/Huntley and Palmer Foods plc 16 March 1982 Prosper de Mulder Ltd./Thomas Borthwick and Sons plc 16 September 1982 Redland plc/Ibstock Johnson plc 28 January 1983 Knoll International Holdings Inc./Sotheby Parke Bernet 4 May 1983 Scottish and Newcastle Breweries plc/J. W. Cameron and Company Ltd. 5 June 1984 Imperial Group plc/Permaflex Ltd. 10 April 1985 McCorquodale plc/Richard Clay pic 23 August 1985 Imperial Group plc/United Biscuits (Holdings) plc 11 February 1986 Guinness plc/The Distillers Company plc 14 February 1986 Cope Allman International plc/Firth Cleveland Strip 3 April 1986 Hillsdown Holdings plc/S and W Berisford plc 19 May 1986 London International Group plc/ Wedgwood plc 9 June 1986 Strong and Fisher (Holdings) plc/Garnar Booth plc 2 November 1986 Gulf Resources and Chemical Corporation/Imperial Continental Gas Association 9 December 1986