The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission issued its revised Merger Guidelines 2008, ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, announced in a speech today to the American Chamber of Commerce.
The guidelines outline the general principles underpinning the ACCC's approach to merger analysis under section 50 of the Trade Practices Act 1974.
"The ACCC's approach to merger assessment has evolved significantly since the ACCC last published analytical guidelines in this area in 1999. In contrast to the 1999 guidelines, the revised Merger Guidelines have been developed with a greater emphasis on the competitive theories of harm and the effects of constraints which enables a more integrated analysis," Mr Samuel said.
"Rather than signalling a new approach to merger analysis by the ACCC, the revised Merger Guidelines provide a better reflection of the approach that has developed in recent years, in line with international best practice, contemporary views on anti-trust analysis and the ACCC's experience.
"The revised Merger Guidelines and the growing body of public competition assessments posted on the ACCC website, provide for greater predictability, transparency and certainty to merger parties, the business community, their advisers and the public," Mr Samuel said.
The revised Merger Guidelines have benefited from valuable input from the business and trade practices advisory community on the earlier draft which was released for consultation in February this year.
There have been a number of changes made in response to the comments received. The most notable of these is the simplification of the notification threshold the ACCC introduced to filter and thereby limit the merger reviews it conducts to those mergers which, in its view, may potentially raise competition concerns.
The ACCC will apply the revised Merger Guidelines flexibly and will continue to assess each merger on its merits according to the specific nature of the transaction, the industry and the particular competitive impact likely to result in each case.
In recognition that the Merger Guidelines are likely to require revision periodically to reflect new legal precedent, evolving insight and best practice, the Merger Guidelines published on the ACCC website will provide the most up-to-date source regarding any changes to the ACCC's approach to merger analysis.
The guidelines are linked below and in the For Business section under mergers.
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