United Kingdom: Competition and Markets Authority publishes updated Merger Assessment Guidelines

On 18 March 2021, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued its revised Merger Assessment Guidelines. The guidelines were adopted to address the new challenges that the emergence of digital markets brought to competition law. The guidelines include relevant investigations conducted by the CMA and examples of mergers that could raise competition concerns. Furthermore, in its guidelines, the CMA noted that when reviewing mergers it will also include non-price factors, e.g. the level of digital privacy offered to users, staffing levels, and environmental sustainability. Furthermore, the competitive effects of mergers are assessed according to the "substantial lessening of competition test" (SLC test) with the CMA explaining which factors it considers substantial. Finally, the CMA will take a dynamic approach when looking at how potential competition will develop.