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Pensions Bill

If the merger was undertaken at fair value, taking account of the protection of the scheme and the covenant to the scheme, and the merger subsequently failed, it is difficult to see how that failure could be taken into account as part of the judgment on the original merger. When these transactions take place, as long as the position of the scheme is considered and properly protected, the fact that the beneficial effect conceived for the merger does not result should not be the subject of action by the regulator. We have to look at what happens when the merger is put together. The fact that subsequently it may fail is a separate issue.