A private equity firm has a partial ownership stake in an energy company. It proposes to acquire another partial stake in a rival energy company. If the private equity firm has voting rights on their boards of directors, what is likely to be the major concern?

a. There are no competitive concerns raised by the acquisition

b. The transfer of competitively sensitive information on the energy rivals could facilitate an anticompetitive agreement

c. The private equity firm could influence strategic decision-making and reduce competition between the two energy rivals

d. The joint venture agreement would be treated just like a merger