Reporter’s view: ACCC merger review to feed its campaign for merger-law changes
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Reporter's view: Legal and regulatory affairs correspondent Laurel Henning said: “The ACCC said its review project seeks to better understand the challenges the regulator believes it faces when applying a forward-looking merger review test.
“No doubt the review will feed the regulator's campaign for merger-law changes, as a government taskforce review of merger laws is due to be handed to the treasury department.
“The reviews give the ACCC a chance to test the accuracy of its own predictions and as a result, the evidence provided by companies at the time of a merger review — another key argument in its merger-review campaign.”
ACCC merger analysis raises concerns over undertakings
The news: The Australian competition regulator has pointed to the complexities related to undertakings in its latest analysis of former merger decisions.
The context: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission released its findings that were based on three unopposed deals from 2019: ANZ Terminals acquisition of GrainCorp Liquid Terminals, AP Eagers Limited’s acquisition of Automotive Holdings Group, and Bauer Media’s acquisition of Pacific Magazines.
ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said in a statement that the report "re-enforced the risks raised when clearance decisions rely on new entry and expansion," and concerns linked to the effectiveness of undertakings or remedy offers designed to respond to competition concerns at the time of a review.
The Bauer-Pacific deal saw market dynamics play out similarly to the ACCC's predictions that a merged entity would be constrained by online content providers as the industry was in decline.
However, the ANZ Terminals/Grain Corp deal showed barriers to market entry were higher than expected at the time of the review.
Markets were also significantly disrupted by the pandemic and supply chain issues, which couldn't have been foreseen at the time of the 2019 review.
The ACCC noted that it is advocating for more information gathering powers to inform its reviews of completed mergers. It said its latest study relied on voluntary information and this information impacted the quality and relevance of data.
The source: ACCC
