Australia: Japan Post to appeal ACCC rejection of Sea Swift merger deal

Japan Post will appeal against the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s rejection of its Sea Swift northern Australian merger by taking the matter to the Competition Tribunal.

The merger rejection, after the ACCC had it for six months, was the first by the regulator since June last year, when it knocked back Healthscope’s acquisition of a private hospital in Melbourne.

Last financial year the ACCC let through 320 mergers and allowed seven others after undertakings were accepted.

This one is relatively rare and the newly owned Toll Marine Logistics has drawn a line in the sand and will take this matter to the Australian Competition Tribunal, which considers merger applications on a public benefit test.

While the ACCC didn’t stop any mergers this past financial year, it did stop at least two the previous year, with the Brunswick hospital case being one and the other AGL’s $1.5 billion bid for Macquarie Generation.

Full content: The Australian

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