Competition Authority averages 30 days to clear mergers

The Competition Authority cleared company mergers on average within 30 days of being notified in 2005, according to a study by McCann FitzGerald.

Of the 84 deals notified to the authority during 2005, all but one, the NTL/Chorus transaction, was cleared in phase one by the authority. However, the number of deals that required extended phase one investigations was up in 2005 to eight from three in 2004. The NTL/Chorus transaction was cleared by the authority after 163 days.