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The Competition Commission has revised its service standards for Phase 3 large mergers and acquisitions (M&A), cautioning stakeholders in a statement on Friday that the turnaround time for these transactions had been extended to 120 business days.
Revision of the standards, which set out the maximum number of business days in which the commission expected to complete its review of notified transactions from the date on which a complete merger notification is filed, came after a review of the 2010 timelines and was undertaken in an effort to “manage the service delivery expectations of stakeholders”, the commission said.
It added that, owing to the growing volumes in the number of mergers notified and the increasing complexity of investigations, the commission had been unable to meet some of the 2010 service standards, particularly for Phase 3 large mergers.
The remaining 2010 standards, which set out turnaround times of 20 business days for Phase 1 mergers, 45 business days for Phase 2 mergers and 60 business days for Phase 3 intermediate mergers, would, however, remain unchanged.
“The commission is confident that the revised service standards are adequate to enable it to discharge its duties in a timely manner,” it stated.