An Australian regulator raised antitrust concerns over a planned $6.5 billion takeover by Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management of freight firm Asciano, potentially jeopardizing the country’s biggest inbound deal in four years.
The proposed deal, which would be the largest-ever purchase of an Australian firm by a Canadian company, would give Brookfield Asciano’s rail network and train operations in two of the country’s eight states, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said in a statement on Thursday.
“The ACCC is concerned that the vertical integration will lead to a substantial lessening of competition in related markets for the supply of above rail haulage services in (Western Australia) and Queensland,” the commission’s chairman Rod Sims said.
While the ACCC made no mention of blocking the deal in its entirety, the statement raised uncertainty about whether Brookfield can overcome the regulator’s concerns without carving out large parts of the target company’s business – a move which would make it less appealing to buy.
Full content: Bloomberg
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Red Bull Challenges EU Commission Over Lengthy Antitrust Inspection
May 19, 2025 by
CPI
Live Nation Under Criminal Antitrust Investigation Over Pandemic-Era Refund Policies
May 19, 2025 by
CPI
BCLP Strengthens Healthcare and Antitrust Litigation Practice
May 19, 2025 by
CPI
Italy Fines AI Chatbot Maker Replika €5 Million Over Privacy Violations
May 19, 2025 by
CPI
Germany’s Antitrust Chief: EU-US Tech Policy Divide Is Mostly Rhetoric
May 19, 2025 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Healthcare Antitrust
May 14, 2025 by
CPI
Healthcare & Antitrust: What to Expect in the New Trump Administration
May 14, 2025 by
Nana Wilberforce, John W O'Toole & Sarah Pugh
Patent Gaming and Disparagement: Commission Fines Teva For Improperly Protecting Its Blockbuster Medicine
May 14, 2025 by
Blaž Višnar, Boris Andrejaš, Apostolos Baltzopoulos, Rieke Kaup, Laura Nistor & Gianluca Vassallo
Strategic Alliances in the Pharma Sector: An EU Competition Law Perspective
May 14, 2025 by
Christian Ritz & Benedikt Weiss
Monopsony Power in the Hospital Labor Market
May 14, 2025 by
Kevin E. Pflum & Christian Salas