The purpose of this report is to contribute to the analysis of two questions. Should a merger control system take into … both theoretical and empirical studies of mergers and merger control. Next, we review the current legal practice in seven … OECD jurisdictions. Finally, we propose a merger control system, emphasising the central role of informational limitations …

We demonstrate a "preemptive merger mechanism" which may explain the empirical puzzle why mergers reduce profits, and … raise share prices. A merger may confer strong negative externalilties on the firms outside the merger. If being an "insider … pre-merger value of a merging firm is low, since it reflects the risk of becoming an outsider. These results are derived …

is that efficiency gains, and their pass-on to consumers, may vary substantially from merger to merger. For this reason … it seems appropriate to reconsider current practice in European merger control, which does not allow the merging parties …

triopoly. Our analysis warns against a mechanical use of pre-merger benchmarks in ex post merger evaluations. …

possible reconciliation. It is demonstrated that anticompetitive mergers may reduce competitors' share prices, if the merger …