On 18 February 2015 the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that it would refer the merger for an in-depth investigation because of competition concerns regarding a number of inpatient and outpatient elective services.
After an initial decision to refer a merger for an in-depth phase 2 investigation, merging parties have 5 working days in which to offer acceptable undertakings to address the CMA’s competition concerns in lieu of the referral. As the parties to the merger have not offered undertakings in lieu, the CMA will therefore now refer the merger.
A decision on the merger will be made by a group of independent panel members supported by a case team of CMA staff. The deadline for the final report will be 12 August 2015.
All information relating to the investigation is available on the case page.