The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) today announced that it will not oppose TPG Telecom Limited’s (TPG) proposed acquisition of iiNet Limited (iiNet). TPG and iiNet are two of the five largest suppliers of fixed broadband in Australia.
In June of this year, the ACCC had released a Statement of Issues (SOI) concerning the proposed acquisition. The SOI had stated that the ACCC’s market enquiries had disclosed concerns about the proposed acquisition. During its subsequent investigation both the Commission and Frontier (Australia) (retained by iiNet) undertook modelling of the likely upward pricing pressure (UPP) that the proposed merger might cause.
The ACCC concluded that the acquisition would not reach the threshold of a ‘substantial’ lessening of competition as required under section 50 of the Competition and Consumer Act.
Frontier (Australia) regularly advises both carriers and regulators on competition issues in the telecommunications sector.
For more information, please contact Marita O'Keeffe at m.okeeffe@frontier-economics.com.au or phone +61 3 9620 4488.
