Konkurencja i konsument · 29/01/1997

Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Commission Divestiture Orders Information Collection Requirement

The application for OMB review concerns information collection to be undertaken in a study to assess the effectiveness of Commission divestiture orders in merger cases. The study will assist the Commission in evaluating the effectiveness of its merger enforcement actions. Specifically, the study will inform the Commission about whether to modify its current divestiture procedures so as to make divestitures more timely and effective. The study includes some collection of information from the public by means of telephone interviews, requests for documents, and a limited questionnaire. All interviews will be conducted on a voluntary basis. All information will be collected on a voluntary basis. Staff will study a total of 49 divestitures arising out of 36 orders. Staff have already contacted nine buyers. Staff, thus, will contact another 40 buyers (plus any subsequent buyers of the divested assets), 36 respondents, and 147 third-parties (on average, three per divestiture), for a total of 223 telephone interviews. Each interview should take about one hour and 30 minutes to complete, for a total burden estimate of approximately 335 hours. After the telephone interviews, the buyers of di