Offers a comprehensive statement of the law, architecture, and procedure of merger control in the United Kingdom. This book explains the factors pertinent to the economic appraisal of mergers in a manner accessible to a legal audience; and also gives useful practical guidance on managing the transactional process and regulatory risk.

Merger control in the United Kingdom has recently entered a new phase in its development. The advent of the relevant aspects of the Enterprise Act 2002 has been welcomed as a 'depoliticisation' of the regime. Together with guidance published subsequently, the reforms also prescribe a range of new procedural guarantees for those parties affected under the regime. In addition, the EC merger control regime and in particular the nature of its relationship with the competent authorities of the Member States has been significantly revised. It is against this backdrop that the authors - leading experts with first rate regulatory, practical and academic experience - offer a comprehensive statement of the law, architecture, and procedure of merger control in the United Kingdom; explain the factors pertinent to the economic appraisal of mergers in a manner accessible to a legal audience; and give invaluable practical guidance on managing the transactional process and regulatory risk.

A specialist work in this area is to be welcomed, particularly when it is as lucid and well written as is this one. Even if this text were not good it would be recommended purely for being the first of its kind, and Oxford University Press are to be congratulated for bringing out books in such a timely fashion dealing with both the EC and UK regimes. It is a pleasure, however, to be able to recommend this text not because it is timely, but because it is clear, well-structured and comprehensive in its treatment of the issues raised by this most complex area of commercial regulation.