RE:RE:RE:This didn’t make the SP crash todayEven though they have, supposedly, considerable powers within their gamut, they have typically been seen as a paper tiger. Further, with the upcoming Brexit, their attention is so squarely focussed on trying to deal with the issues that that episode will bring, they hardly have time for such 'local' issues as this merger. In a similar vein, they (CMA) have recently been squarking that, with recent budget cuts and lack of future funding, they will be almost unable to handle what they do (little that it is) now, let alone with the increased burden that Brexit brings.
While this current 'stoppage' is, almost without doubt, the response to some competitor's complaint(s), especially since it is post-factum, from my own experience with the CMA's activities (and, recalling the Ladbrokes/Coral 'investigation and subsequent recommendations) their actions in this case will likely be fairly muted and will only serve to show (at least, in their minds) that they are, as some imply, doing their jobs (and, need to be kept in their jobs, in light of threats to their budget).
For me, it feels like much-ado about nothing.