Vodafone’s £11bn 5G rollout at risk if Three merger is blocked July 10, 2023 Vodafone’s UK boss has warned that the company’s £11bn investment in the UK’s 5G network is at risk if its merger with Three is blocked by the country’s competition regulator. Without the deal, Vodafone “won’t be able to invest as much and we won’t be able to deliver the 5G ambition that’s coming in the [...]
Petrol prices rise for first time in eight months as CMA breaths down supermarkets’ necks July 6, 2023 Petrol prices rose for the first time in eight months in June just days after the competition regulator found supermarkets hiked up fuel prices last year. Unleaded increased by nearly a penny (0.7p) to 143.9p, while diesel came down by 1.2p to 145.46p at the end of month, marking eight consecutive monthly reductions, according to [...]
INEOS boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe brands CMA ‘increasingly hostile to business’ after $1bn deal snub July 4, 2023 INEOS chair Sir Jim Ratcliffe has lashed out at Britain’s competition watchdog for being “increasingly hostile” to business – after it blocked a $1bn deal involving his firm. The business titan who founded the private chemicals giant made his comments after the Competition and Markets Authority prevented INEOS’ acquisition of Sika AG, a concrete additives [...]
CMA takes aim at supermarkets for weakening fuel price competition – as Brits pay nearly £1bn more for fuel July 3, 2023 Increased supermarket profit margins led to drivers paying almost £1bn more for fuel last year, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has found. Following a year long investigation, the watchdog said today that average supermarket fuel margins rose by 6p per litre between 2019 and 2022, with £900m syphoned out of customers pockets in total. [...]
CMA probe throws £16bn Adobe and Figma tie-up into doubt June 30, 2023 The UK’s competition watchdog has said it may move to block Adobe’s acquisition of design platform Figma unless they can resolve anti-trust concerns. In a summary of the decision, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the merger of the two companies gives rise to “a realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition”. Leading [...]
New CMA bill could undermine UK’s tech superpower ambitions, CPS report warns June 29, 2023 The government should scrap its new Digital Markets, Competitions and Consumers (DMCC) bill because it is already too old, the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) has warned today. The report, titled ‘The Unregulated Regulator’, alleges that dynamic digital markets have “outpaced” the new legislation. What’s more, it would weaken investment and grant the CMA “extensive [...]
CMA blocks tie-up of hearing aid giants citing bid to protect consumers and the NHS June 22, 2023 The competition watchdog said it was protecting customers and the NHS on Thursday as it blocked part of the planned tie-up between two hearing aid companies. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that it would not allow the merger of Cochlear Limited and Oticon Medical to go ahead. Cochlear agreed to buy Oticon from [...]
Google is ‘killing off industries’ with online ad monopoly, tech bosses tell Westminster committee June 21, 2023 Several small tech companies have accused Google of stifling competition due to its monopoly of the online advertising market – amid calls to increase competition by lawmakers. The House of Lords communications and digital committee heard the tech giant is “killing off industries”, and that its dominance leads to higher prices. In the hearing which [...]
Vodafone and Three UK ‘transformative’ merger sparks speculation over CMA approval June 15, 2023 Britain’s competition regulator is set to scrutinise the long-awaited tie-up of Vodafone and Three, announced yesterday. The deal will create the largest mobile network in the UK. Vodafone boss Margherita Della Valle said the merger is “great for customers, great for the country and great for competition”, but commentators warned last night the CMA was [...]
Chancellor to discuss food prices with CMA May 23, 2023 Today the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will meet with food manufacturers to discuss the cost of food and explore ways to ease pressure on households. The government says Hunt will raise concerns about high prices of food in the UK and discuss measures the government and industry could put in place to help households. Hunt said: [...]