The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is planning a rebuild of the disclosure requirements when entities seek approval for merger deals to make the process less burdensome, people aware of deliberations have told ET. At present, disclosures are made under Form- II if the market share of the post-merger entity exceeds 15%. The form has about 30 queries that seek voluminous details about the deal and post-merger market and the business environment.
The regulator is looking if this threshold of 15% market share can be raised, and the outdated queries such as the economics of the segment, data on research and development, and quantitative efficiencies of the company can be dropped or modified in line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.
“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.
