asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if the permission of his Department was sought for the merger in March 1985 of Collins Bros. Ltd., and the Bacon and Lamb Company (Leinster) Ltd., and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Companies Merger.
6.
(Limerick East): The merger referred to by the Deputy was not the subject of a notification to my Department under the Mergers, Takeovers and Monopolies (Control) Act, 1978. The criteria for the notification of a proposed merger are set out in the Act which also provides that title to any shares or assets involved in a notifiable merger cannot pass in the absence of a decision by the Minister for Industry and Commerce allowing the proposal to proceed or unless the relevant period under the Act expires. Given the nature of this sanction, it would seem the companies in question were satisfied that a notification pursuant to the Act was not required. I have no information available to me which would suggest that that was not the case.
The Minister said that the companies concerned were satisfied that they did not come within the ambit of the Act concerned. Do the Minister and his Department operate any kind of monitor procedure to ensure that the Act is complied with and that companies coming within its ambit are dealt with?
(Limerick East): The obligation is on the company, not on the Department. The Act is self-policing because shares cannot pass and mergers cannot take place unless the law is complied with. If companies are required under law to notify and they do not do so then the merger cannot take place. It is like selling your house; the legal advisers must be satisfied in regard to the title and if that is wrong, regardless of what the monitoring agency says. the sale cannot be completed. This merger occurred and there is plenty of circumstantial evidence to indicate there was no obligation to notify because it did not come within limits of the 1978 Act.