A report on the efficiency gains resulting from non-horizontal mergers has been posted on DG Enterprise website. The report contains interesting policy recommendations. In particular, it strongly advocates the adoption of a presumption pursuant to which non-horizontal mergers should be deemed - as a matter of principle - pro-competitive:
“[...] non-horizontal mergers can only adversely affect competition indirectly. This implies that where an integrated competitive assessment is required, the economic presumption must be that non-horizontal mergers are pro-competitive. Indeed, if an integrated assessment is required, it should be assumed that the efficiency benefits generated by a non-horizontal merger predominate any potential anti-competitive concerns unless it can be demonstrated otherwise (pp.124-125)”.
Comments