ACCC swamped with requests for exemptions from new merger regime
Companies and their lawyers are rushing to sidestep the ACCC’s new merger rules, pushing to file exemptions before the tougher system takes hold.
Competition lawyers are rushing to lodge exemptions to Australia’s merger clearance rules on behalf of clients eager to be cleared before the competition regulator’s new merger control regime begins next year.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will not formally adopt the new rules until 1 January, but it has advised companies doing deals — including those with no competition issues — to apply for exemptions under the current informal merger review process by 30 September to avoid being guinea pigs under the new regime.
That guidance has triggered a surge in demand for so-called Section 189 letters, which exempt companies acquiring assets or businesses from undergoing an ACCC clearance and give parties 12 months to complete their transaction.
Clayton Utz partner Michael Corrigan told Capital Brief that he had never drafted so many s189 letters, as dealmaking clients sought to avoid the new merger controls, which capture all deals worth more than $250 million.
