Supermarket chains Sainsbury’s and Asda have called for a judicial review of the UK competition regulator’s investigation of their proposed tie-up.
A statement from Sainsbury’s said that this application “requests a review of the timetable and process, reflecting both parties’ view that the [Competition and Markets Authority’s] current timetable does not give the parties or the CMA sufficient time to provide and consider all the evidence given the unprecedented scale and complexity of the case.”
Sainsbury’s and Asda said they have requested an additional 11 working days over the Christmas period to respond to a “large amount of material” provided to them.
However, the CMA defended its position and said the timeline was typical of an investigation into a merger of that scale, adding it had extended certain administrative deadlines.
A spokesperson for CMA said: “If we gave the companies the extra time they are now asking for, it would put our ability to complete the investigation by the required deadline at very serious risk. As with all of our merger reviews, we construct our timetable to ensure that everyone has the chance to have their say, including customers, the companies involved and suppliers.
“Investigating any merger of this size requires assessing a large volume of material in a short time frame, and it is not unusual for the companies involved to do this in the timelines we have been working to with Sainsbury’s and Asda.
“We have done everything we can to aid their consideration of this work, while still ensuring we are able to meet our legally binding deadline. This includes extending certain administration timelines where appropriate.”
