Interbrew may be staying quiet for a week or so about its blocked bid for Bass Brewers, but that hasn't stopped everyone else having their say.
Opinion may be split on whether the UK Government's decision is good news or not, but few can be found that believe the verdict is anything but odd, bizarre or straight perverse.
What it has done is raise a raft of further questions, not just about the future implications for the UK beer and pub markets, but for Government policy on competition in general. As M&C Report commented the day the announcement was made, Trade Secretary Stephen Byers may have been following his Competition Commission's advice, but he didn't seem to have taken too long to consider the wider consequences.
The first mystery is why Byers and his advisers failed to address the key cause of competition worries, namely the control of wholesaling and distribution by major beer brand owners and producers. Interbrew was even ready to take a hit in this area. The fact that Byers didn't and that he now apparently believes that vertical integration with brewers owning pubs is no longer an issue may soon come back to haunt him.
Before Christmas Byers and the OFT, in their review of the Beer Orders, lifted the pub owning limit on brewers. So this weekend's news that Nomura, owner of around 5,000 UK pubs and the UK's largest off-licence chain, may be interested in buying Bass Brewers will presumably pose no problems for Byers and his friends?
There's also the question of Scottish & Newcastle's ability to grow bigger in the UK? It seems currently that its OK as long as it hasn't a real rival to create a duopoly with. But will action be taken against S&N in the future if it acquires new beer brands in its quest for a worldwide brewing presence that might increase its UK market share?
And then there's the Government's own double thinking on alcohol. We have Byers determined to keep beer cheap for the public, while the Home Office appears to consider it one of the major causes of crime and disorder. Don't even mention the Department of Health's view. So much for the concept of "joined-up" Government.
The best anyone can say is that it's a complete shambles. It's enough to make you pine for a swift return to the Department of Trade & Industry for Peter Mandelson.
Opinion may be split on whether the UK Government's decision is good news or not, but few can be found that believe the verdict is anything but odd, bizarre or straight perverse.
What it has done is raise a raft of further questions, not just about the future implications for the UK beer and pub markets, but for Government policy on competition in general. As M&C Report commented the day the announcement was made, Trade Secretary Stephen Byers may have been following his Competition Commission's advice, but he didn't seem to have taken too long to consider the wider consequences.
The first mystery is why Byers and his advisers failed to address the key cause of competition worries, namely the control of wholesaling and distribution by major beer brand owners and producers. Interbrew was even ready to take a hit in this area. The fact that Byers didn't and that he now apparently believes that vertical integration with brewers owning pubs is no longer an issue may soon come back to haunt him.
Before Christmas Byers and the OFT, in their review of the Beer Orders, lifted the pub owning limit on brewers. So this weekend's news that Nomura, owner of around 5,000 UK pubs and the UK's largest off-licence chain, may be interested in buying Bass Brewers will presumably pose no problems for Byers and his friends?
There's also the question of Scottish & Newcastle's ability to grow bigger in the UK? It seems currently that its OK as long as it hasn't a real rival to create a duopoly with. But will action be taken against S&N in the future if it acquires new beer brands in its quest for a worldwide brewing presence that might increase its UK market share?
And then there's the Government's own double thinking on alcohol. We have Byers determined to keep beer cheap for the public, while the Home Office appears to consider it one of the major causes of crime and disorder. Don't even mention the Department of Health's view. So much for the concept of "joined-up" Government.
The best anyone can say is that it's a complete shambles. It's enough to make you pine for a swift return to the Department of Trade & Industry for Peter Mandelson.
