In the case of less significant deals, Form-I, or short form, is filed that seeks basic information of mergers and queries are lesser and generic.
The regulator is looking if this threshold of 15% market share can be raised, and the outdated queries such as the economics of the segment, data on research and development, and quantitative efficiencies of the company can be dropped or modified in line with international best practices.
Globally, competition laws focus on queries that are relevant for merging firms and are deal focussed.
“In combination, companies are reluctant to file Form-II as it’s complicated, confusing, and not so user-friendly. The exercise is quite cumbersome,” an official, privy to the plan, told ET. “Keeping in mind the challenges, CCI’s team is working to make the regime simpler but much-focused on the merger information. So, that will give a clearer picture of the company’s focus and intent and fast-track the entire process,” the official added.
The disclosure under Form-II is mainly to ensure that the merger is not anti-competition, the official said.
Other than market share, Form-II has to be also filed if CCI is not satisfied with the ‘combination’ disclosure or suspects misrepresentation of facts when it’s reviewing the application.
In competition law parlance, mergers and acquisitions are generally referred to as combinations.
The move comes close on the heels of the CCI suspending the Amazon-Future deal for non-disclosure of information. Industry bodies have reached out to CCI to seek clarity on disclosures to ensure M&As do not face such issues.
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