The Chief Minister has confirmed that the Isle of Man Government carried out no due diligence on the recent sale of Manx Telecom.
Alf Cannan MHK told Tynwald the transaction was a private commercial deal between two off‑island parties and did not trigger any review under Manx law.
During Tynwald questions, Jason Moorhouse MHK pressed Alfred Cannan on why no assessment was undertaken, given Manx Telecom’s critical role in the island’s infrastructure and the fact the UK Cabinet Office examined the takeover under its National Security and Investment Act.
No Concerns
Cannan said: The merger was scrutinised in the UK primarily under the national security framework rather than under any competition law I believe the merger was a trigger event under the National Security and Investment Act 2021 as parties to the merger were identified as critical providers to the UK government departments.
“There was no equivalent legislation in the Isle of Man, and the merger was not scrutinised by the Isle of Man due to competition concerns or the UK government. I’m not aware that we were officially informed the UK was undertaking this scrutiny.”
He told members the sale did not meet any threshold for intervention under the island’s Competition Act, as Jersey Telecom does not operate in the Manx market, meaning there was no change in market structure, market share or market power.
“This is effectively a change of ownership, and competition law is agnostic in relation to ownership structures,” he said.
Moorhouse questioned whether OFT or the Department for Enterprise had provided advice to the Council of Ministers, noting previous political commitments to take a more proactive stance on major takeovers following the ShopRite acquisition.
Cannan said CURA had been kept informed throughout the process, but reiterated that there was no trigger point for a review under existing legislation.
The exchange can be heard below:
