The UK Competition Authority in a series of gun jumping enforcement actions, imposes a fine of £200,000 on an electronics company for gun jumping (Electro Rent)

UK Clamps Down On Gun-Jumping On 12 February 2019, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) imposed a fine of £200,000 on Electro Rent for gun-jumping. [1] This is the third occasion on which the CMA has penalised a company for breaching “standstill” or “hold-separate” obligations under the UK merger rules, and comes only one day after the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) upheld the CMA’s first gun-jumping fine (imposed on Electro Rent in June 2018 for a separate infringement). [2] The CMA has shown increased readiness to penalise companies for breaching procedural rules, in particular in relation to merger proceedings, consistent with recent action by the European Commission (EC) and national agencies in the EU. The CAT’s judgment strongly endorses the CMA’s approach: “[i]t is a