§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the investigations carried out by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission into Stagecoach Holdings plc; if he will list those occasions on which Stagecoach Holdings plc has taken his Department to court over actions taken in response to these investigations; and on how many occasions the actions of his Department have been upheld it the courts of law. [36116]
Mr. John M. TaylorThe acquisitions by Stagecoach of the following companies were referred to, and investigated by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission under the merger provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1973:
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Company Date report published, Cm. nos. Portsmouth Citybus Limited July 1990 Cm 1130 Formia Limited December 1990 CM 1382 Lancaster City Transport Limited December 1993 CM 2423 Mainline Partnership Limited March 1995 Cm 2782
Company Date report published. Cm. nos. S B Holdings Limited April 1995 Cm 2845 Ayrshire Bus Owners Limited (A1 Service) November 1995 Cm 3032 Chesterfield Transport (1989) Ltd January 1996 Cm 3086 The MMC carried out two further investigations involving Stagecoach:
The Competition Act 1980Southdown Motor Services Limited (a subsidiary of Stagecoach). Published June 1993. Cm 2248.The monopoly provisions of the FTAThe supply of bus services in north-east England. Busways (a subsidiary of Stagecoach). Published August 1995. Cm 2933.Three applications for judicial review were initiated by Stagecoach against the MMC and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in respect of the MMC's reports on the company's acquisitions of Mainline, SB Holdings and A1 Service and the Secretary of State's decisions following those reports. In relation to Mainline and SB Holdings, Stagecoach withdrew its applications on 20 June 1996 so far as they related to my right hon. Friend; the proceedings brought by Stagecoach against the MMC were dismissed by the court on 5 July 1996. In relation to the A1 case the petition for judicial review by Stagecoach was dismissed by the court of session in Edinburgh against both the MMC and my right hon. Friend on 20 June 1996.