Commission consulting on business competition guidelines

Commission consulting on business competition guidelines

The Commerce Commission is consulting on new draft guidelines that outline the Commission’s approach to assessing clearance and authorisation applications.

The Commission is consulting on a revised draft of the current Mergers and Acquisitions Guidelines, as well as the newly drafted Authorisation Guidelines.

The Mergers and Acquisitions Guidelines, which outline our approach and process when considering clearances, were last published in 2003 and have been updated to reflect recent Commission decisions and New Zealand cases, international best practice, and the Commission’s plain English standard.

The Authorisation Guidelines, which outline our approach and process when considering authorisations for mergers and agreements, replace the Benefit and Detriment Guidelines published in 1997. The newly drafted guidelines reflect the developments in case law and our practice since the publishing of the Benefit and Detriment Guidelines.

The draft Mergers and Acquisitions Guidelines can be accessed on the Commission's website at http://www.comcom.govt.nz/mergers-and-acquisitions-guidelines/ and the draft Authorisation Guidelines at http://www.comcom.govt.nz/authorisation-guidelines/

The Commission is consulting on both sets of guidelines before they are finalised mid-2013 and invites comments from interested parties. Please send all comments to GuidelinesConsult@comcom.govt.nz by 5pm on Tuesday 9 April 2013.

Background
The Commerce Commission has an adjudication role in relation to mergers and acquisitions under the Commerce Act.

Clearances
Under the Commerce Act, the Commerce Commission considers applications for the clearance of proposed mergers or acquisitions that might substantially lessen competition in a market, where the applicants wish to obtain protection from legal challenge either from the Commission or from other parties in the market.

Authorisations
Under the Commerce Act, the Commerce Commission is able to grant authorisations for proposed mergers and acquisitions that will result or will be likely to result, in a substantial lessening of competition in a market if it finds that the public benefit directly attributable to the transaction outweighs any detriment.

The Commission may grant an authorisation for arrangements or practices which may be in breach of the trade practice provisions of the Commerce Act if it is satisfied that the public benefits of the arrangement outweigh the harm arising from the loss of competition.

More information about the Commerce Commission’s role in relation to mergers and acquisitions under the Commerce Act can be found on the Commission’s website at http://www.comcom.govt.nz/mergers-and-acquisitions/

ENDS

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