Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what policies his Department has in place to protect product standards in British companies when they are taken over by foreign companies.

The Takeover Code governs takeovers of UK public companies in order to provide an orderly framework for the conduct of bids and to ensure that shareholders are treated fairly and equally. However, the Code does not contain any rules about product standards following a takeover. These would only be regulated by the Takeover Panel if the bidder had made a specific commitment or intention statement on the matter during the course of the offer.