Petrol station firm EG Group mulls ‘potential $15bn sale’ September 9, 2021 Petrol station forecourt giant EG Group is reportedly mulling options for its future, including a potential sale. Bloomberg reported that a deal to sell the company, which is backed by the billionaire Issa brothers and private equity firm TDR Capital, could fetch as much as $15bn. The firm could also go for an initial public [...]
CMA closes investigation into Ryanair and British Airways October 7, 2021 The UK’s competition watchdog has closed an investigation into the legality of airlines failing to refund passengers who were prevented from flying by Covid restrictions. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation in June 2021 after British Airways offered customers vouchers or rebooking and Ryanair provided the option to rebook flights which could [...]
US Nvidia’s $54bn UK Arm buyout faces EU competition concerns September 7, 2021 European Union officials have reportedly voiced competition concerns over US tech giant Nvidia’s purchase of UK chip design company Arm, in the deal’s latest wave of opposition. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) echoed the EU’s sentiment last month, saying the sale raises “serious competition concerns.” The California-based company is preparing to file for regulatory [...]
Kwarteng orders review of petrol retail market to ensure fuel duty cuts are passed on to consumers June 12, 2022 Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has ordered the market watchdog to conduct an "urgent review" of the petrol market.
BA’s owner IAG could face investigation over Air Europa’s takeover November 22, 2021 British Airways’s owner IAG could face a formal investigation by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) over the proposed takeover of Spanish carrier Air Europa. The watchdog announced today that it is “considering whether this transaction, if carried into effect, will result in the creation of a relevant merger situation” that could lead to [...]
Government ordered to reveal firms in £12bn PPE bonanza ‘VIP lane’ October 18, 2021 The government has been ordered to reveal the list of 47 companies which were awarded hefty PPE contracts via the ‘high-priority lane’ at the beginning of the pandemic last year. The contracts cost the government some £12.5bn, despite a number of reports that some of the PPE acquired was ‘unusable’. The Information Commissioner has told [...]
Fuelling the fire: Independent retailers ignite petrol price war to attract motorists July 21, 2022 Petrol retailers have kickstarted a price war, with independent vendors slashing costs at the pumps to lure in motorists as the cost of living crisis deepens.
Watchdog clears £2.9bn Viagogo and StubHub merger September 8, 2021 A $4bn (£2.9bn) merger of ticket resale websites Viagogo and StubHub has been approved by a UK watchdog. Viagogo was given the green light to acquire StubHub after US investment group Digital Fuel Capital agreed to buy part of the business. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had instructed Viagogo to sell StubHub’s operations to [...]
UK competition watchdog to investigate Central England Co-op funeral deal August 16, 2021 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will investigate the deal by the Central England Co-op to snap up part of its rival in the funeral care business, the Midcounties Co-op. The UK competition regulator said today it is considering whether the merger deal “may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition” within [...]
National Grid’s £7.8bn power deal gets green light from competition watchdog September 1, 2021 The UK’s competition watchdog has today given the green light to National Grid’s whopping £7.8bn deal to buy Western Power Distribution (WPD). Based on the information currently available, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had decided not to refer the merger to a phase 2 investigation. Back in March National Grid announced that [...]