Mico Wakefield Cleared To Acquire Mastertrade

Issued 6 December 2001/125

Mico Wakefield Receives Commerce Commission Clearance To Acquire Mastertrade

Mico Wakefield has today received Commerce Commission clearance under the Commerce Act to acquire up to 100% of the assets or shares of MasterTrade Limited.

Mico Wakefield is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Crane Group Limited, an Australian publicly listed company. It is a supplier of plumbing, electrical (trading as Corys Electrical) and metal products and has 87 branches throughout New Zealand.

MasterTrade is a wholly-owned subsidiary of electric and electronics group, PDL. It has 47 branches throughout New Zealand, which focus on electrical and plumbing products.

Commission Acting Chair, Paula Rebstock said that although in some regions the proposed merger would give rise to a significant aggregation of market shares, the Commission was satisfied that the existing competition in the markets for the supply of electrical products and plumbing products, together with the low barriers to entry in each of the markets would constrain the merged entity.

In considering the application, the Commission’s role is to determine whether the merger has the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.

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