It’s nailbiting time at Millbank Tower as the Monopolies & Mergers Commission comes up to the wire on its deadline to report on whether GEC Siemens Plc should be allowed to come back with a new bid for Plessey Co Plc: despite the fact that the case against the bid being allowed to proceed has been much more cogently put than the case in favour, the City is convinced that the bid will be allowed to go ahead, but Plessey Semiconductors has fired another salvo, saying that the one remaining British chipmaker had seen record demand and profits over the past three months, but that the threat of the bid had put a blight on new investment as Plessey diverts cash to putting its case for continued independence, and that only essential projects were currently proceeding.
