67Intervention to protect legitimate interests
(1)Subsection (2) applies where—
(a)the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds for suspecting that it is or may be the case that—
(i)a relevant merger situation has been created or that arrangements are in progress or in contemplation which, if carried into effect, will result in the creation of a relevant merger situation; and
(ii)a concentration with a Community dimension (within the meaning of the European Merger Regulations), or a part of such a concentration, has thereby arisen or will thereby arise;
(b)a reference which would otherwise be possible under section 22 or 33 is prevented from being made under that section in relation to the relevant merger situation concerned by virtue of Community law or anything done under or in accordance with it; and
(c)the Secretary of State is considering whether to take appropriate measures to protect legitimate interests as permitted by article 21(3) of the European Merger Regulations.
(2)The Secretary of State may give a notice to the OFT (in this section “a European intervention notice”) if he believes that it is or may be the case that one or more than one public interest consideration is relevant to a consideration of the relevant merger situation concerned.
(3)A European intervention notice shall state—
(a)the relevant merger situation concerned;
(b)the public interest consideration or considerations which are, or may be, relevant to a consideration of the relevant merger situation concerned; and
(c)where any public interest consideration concerned is not finalised, the proposed timetable for finalising it.
(4)Where the Secretary of State believes that it is or may be the case that two or more public interest considerations are relevant to a consideration of the relevant merger situation concerned, he may decide not to mention in the intervention notice such of those considerations as he considers appropriate.
(5)No more than one European intervention notice shall be given under subsection (2) in relation to the same relevant merger situation.
(6)Where the Secretary of State has given a European intervention notice mentioning a public interest consideration which, at that time, is not finalised, he shall, as soon as practicable, take such action as is within his power to ensure that it is finalised.
(7)For the purposes of deciding whether a relevant merger situation has been created or whether arrangements are in progress or in contemplation which, if carried into effect, will result in the creation of a relevant merger situation, sections 23 to 32 (read together with section 34) shall apply for the purposes of this section as they do for the purposes of Chapter 1 but subject to subsection (8).
(8)In their application by virtue of subsection (7) sections 23 to 32 shall have effect as if—
(a)references in those sections to the decision-making authority were references to the Secretary of State;
(b)for paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 23(9) there were substituted “, in relation to the giving of a European intervention notice, the time when the notice is given”;
(c)the references to the OFT in section 24(2)(a) and (b) included references to the Secretary of State;
(d)sections 25, 31 and 32 were omitted; and
(e)the references in sections 23 to 29 to the making of a reference or a reference were, so far as necessary, references to the giving of a European intervention notice or a European intervention notice.
(9)Section 42(3) shall, in its application to this section and section 68, have effect as if for the words “intervention notice” there were substituted “European intervention notice”.