Merger makeover
Treasurer Jim Chalmers this week released new draft rules for dealmaking. While lawyers say there are some positives, one told us the changes put Australia "at the extreme end of merger control".
It's the most extensive overhaul of Australian merger law in 50 years, and once draft legislation published this week is finalised, it'll be baked in for the next two decades.
In large part, where we've ended up isn't far from proposals outlined by Treasurer Jim Chalmers in April, when he said all merger deals above a yet to be announced threshold would be notified to the competition regulator, and set a goal to stop "creeping acquisitions".
Under the changes, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) would consider the cumulative effect of all acquisitions made by parties in a merger within three calendar years of the effective notification date, whether or not the deals were individually notifiable. Designed to address concerns regarding serial acquisitions and roll-up strategies, this will be a brand new element of Australian merger law.
And notifiable deals would be unable to proceed without a decision from the ACCC, or on review, the Australian Competition Tribunal.
