CMA consults on proposed changes to its merger remedies approach

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has today published revised merger remedies (CMA87) guidance for consultation, as part of its ongoing work to ensure the UK merger control regime remains effective, evidence-based and responsive to businesses and consumers.

The CMA's proposals allow for a more flexible approach to when and if behavioural remedies are adopted, while maintaining the ability to reject any remedy proposal which is not effective and could mean a merger still harms competition and leads to higher prices. 

The changes align with the CMA's wider implementation of the ‘4Ps' – pace, predictability, proportionality and process – across all its work to drive growth, investment and business confidence and form part of ongoing improvements to the merger regime to make it more transparent, efficient and predictable .

The CMA has engaged extensively, incorporating feedback from businesses, the advisor community and other groups to shape the proposed changes.

Key proposed changes include:

Widening the scope for behavioural remedies

• While structural remedies will generally remain preferable, the proposed guidance clarifies that behavioural remedies can be effective in some cases, both at Phase 1 and 2.
• The guidance also explains how potential risks of behavioural remedies can be mitigated.

These changes will give merging businesses more clarity on when behavioural remedies are likely to be accepted by the CMA.

Supporting pro-competitive efficiencies and customer benefits

• The proposed guidance recognises that some remedies can be used to lock in pro-competitive rivalry enhancing efficiencies (which strengthen competition) and provides more detail on how relevant customer benefits (RCBs) are assessed.

This aims to ensure pro-growth deals that enhance competition and benefit UK consumers can proceed wherever possible.

Enhancing the merger remedy process

• The proposed guidance incorporates and builds on recent CMA process enhancements that are already providing greater transparency and engagement with businesses through early feedback opportunities and more direct interactions with CMA decision-makers.

This should allow more deals to be cleared with remedies, and at an earlier stage.

A number of other core aspects of the CMA's approach to merger remedies remain unchanged, although the guidance has been updated and modernised throughout to further aid the business community.

Joel Bamford, Executive Director for Mergers at the CMA, writing on LinkedIn said:

Today marks a further milestone in our 4Ps work, with the launch of our consultation on proposed changes to our merger remedies guidance. Alongside the draft revised guidance, we have set out a summary of what we learned through our wide-ranging call for evidence that ran earlier this year, and the changes we're proposing. The result is a comprehensive refresh of our remedies guidance, designed to give greater clarity and certainty about our approach while keeping the focus firmly on effective outcomes.

We've listened carefully to feedback – from businesses, advisers, academics and other stakeholders – and our proposals reflect this. We've also stayed anchored in our core priorities: putting UK consumers at the heart of what we do and making sure our decisions are grounded in strong evidence.

The draft guidance is available to read on the CMA's consultation page.

The CMA is now consulting on its proposed changes and invites stakeholders to provide feedback and share views by Thursday 13 November.

Notes to Editors:

1. CMA87 is the CMA's guidance on merger remedies, which explains how remedies are assessed, when they are likely to be accepted, and how the CMA engages with businesses on remedies during merger reviews. The launch of the CMA's mergers remedies review was set out by Sarah Cardell in February 2025 and aims to make the guidance clearer, more predictable, and supportive of growth and investment.

2. Earlier this year, the CMA gathered feedback from businesses, consumer groups, and other stakeholders which, alongside research conducted by the CMA, has informed the proposed changes set out today. The CMA plans to publish its final merger remedies guidance in late 2025.

3. Rivalry enhancing efficiencies are gains from a merger that strengthen competition between the merging businesses and other firms. They can include lower costs, better quality, a wider range of products, or increased innovation. To be accepted by the CMA, they must:
   • enhance competition in the markets where competition concerns arise;
   • be timely, likely, and sufficient to prevent a substantial lessening of competition;
   • be merger-specific; and
   • benefit customers in the UK
4. The CMA will be exploring further the substantive assessment of rivalry enhancing efficiencies (outside the remedies context) as a next step and will say more on this in due course.
5. RCBs can include lower prices, better quality, greater choice, or increased innovation in UK markets (including outside the market in which competition concerns arise). These benefits may apply to direct or indirect customers, including future customers, at any stage in the supply chain, not just to final consumers.