Vero seeks clearance to acquire Tower

Media Release

Issued 3 March 2013
Release No. 84

Vero seeks clearance to acquire Tower

The Commerce Commission has received a clearance application from Vero Insurance New Zealand Limited to acquire up to 100% of the shares in Tower Limited.

Vero is the New Zealand subsidiary of Suncorp Group Limited, an Australian-based finance, insurance, superannuation and banking business. Suncorp, through Vero, Asteron Life and AA Insurance, provides a range of personal and commercial insurance products direct to customers and through insurance brokers and banks.

Tower is a New Zealand-based insurance company that provides personal and commercial insurance products direct to customers and through banks.

Vero currently holds 13.2% of the shares in Tower. The proposed acquisition would result in Vero owning 100% of the shares in Tower.

A public version of the clearance application is available on the Commission’s Clearances Register.

Background
When considering a proposed merger, the Commission must determine whether any competition that would be lost with the merger would be substantial.

We will give clearance to a proposed merger only if we are satisfied that the merger is unlikely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.

A fact sheet explaining how the Commission assesses a merger application is available on theclearances page.

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