Competition and Markets Authority Archives - The Loadstar

UK regulator delays GXO’s Wincanton takeover, due to ‘competition concerns’

Gavin van Marle — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 12:35:43 +0000

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the country’s chief competition regulator, has delayed GXO’s takeover of Wincanton.
The CMA said today it had completed its ‘Phase 1’ investigation into the deal and concluded that it “could reduce competition in the supply of mainstream contract logistics services in the UK”.
GXO has been given five working days to “submit proposals to address the CMA’s concerns.
“If suitable proposals are not submitted, the CMA ...

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UK forwarders welcome CMA axe for CBER – but it’s not a done deal, yet

Gavin van Marle — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 17:22:00 +0000

UK forwarders have welcomed news that the country’s competition regulator is expected to follow the lead of its EU counterpart and allow the liner shipping Consortia Block Exemption Regulation to lapse when expires on 24 April next year.
The CBER was part of vast tranche of EU laws retained in UK law following Brexit.
On Friday, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that, following industry consultation, it “no longer proposes ...

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BIFA urges UK to follow EC’s ‘sensible decision’ on liner consortia

Charlotte Goldstone — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 16:27:15 +0000

UK freight forwarders have responded to the European Commission’s decision not to renew the Consortia Block Exemption Regulation (CBER) with a plea for the UK government to follow suit.
“The EC has taken a sensible decision, and the UK government should follow suit to ensure that shipping lines will be subject to competition law,” said Steve Parker, BIFA director general (pictured).
“Ideally [it] would follow the EC’s lead and not retain the equivalent of ...

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UK government considers its own liner consortia regulations

Nick Savvides — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 13:26:08 +0000

The UK government could set up its own Consortia Block Exemption Regulation (CBER) for shipping when it revokes all EU laws.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, secretary for business, energy and industrial strategy, has proposed a Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, which aims to scrap all existing EU law retained in the UK, including the CBER, which the European Commission is currently reviewing.
A consultation paper by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority ...

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EC must rethink a consortia block exemption not fit for purpose, say shippers

Nick Savvides — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 12:07:53 +0000

Shippers expect the latest review of the Consortia Block Exemption Regulation (CBER) to result in changes to the rules, following the delayed publication of the EC’s initial view on the consultation.
Henrik Mørch, director of services, DG comp at the EC, revealed at last week’s Logistics Europe conference that the view on the recently ended CBER consultation would be published in the Staff Working Document in the first quarter of next ...

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M&A radar: Hurdles – armed regulators may be coming for you

Gavin van Marle — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 09:52:20 +0000

We thought the UK ‘s Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) rejection of the Cargotec-Konecranes merger was significant for the container industry, particularly the port operating segment.
But according to a new paper by law firm Morrison & Foerster, it also marked a step-change in the relationship between deal-makers and regulators.
The decision in Cargotec-Konecranes, while unsurprising to us here at Premium, took some in the legal profession by surprise given that it followed ...

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Against the odds: M&A arbitrage rules – the merger that was never meant to be

Gavin van Marle — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 11:21:48 +0000

The planned merger between Konecranes and Cargotec has been cancelled after the UK’s antitrust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), yesterday announced it was blocking the deal.
It is seldom that this particular writer at Premium gets to blow his own trumpet, but I did humbly predict this outcome a couple of months ago in my “Thrown off course?” coverage.
That was preceded by “Cargotec + Konecranes merger – increasingly shaky, with ...

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