The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today issued a Statement of Issues on the proposed acquisition of Officeworks and either Kmart or Target by Woolworths Limited.

The Statement of Issues seeks further information on certain competition issues which have arisen from the ACCC's market inquiries.

The ACCC invites further submissions from the market focused on these matters by 19 September 2007. Submissions can be sent by email to the ACCC at mergers@accc.gov.au.

To allow for submissions in response to the Statement of Issues, the ACCC's final decision date will be deferred until 3 October 2007.

The Statement of Issues will be available on the ACCC website.