The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will not intervene in the acquisition of the Riverina Media Group by Rural Press Limited, ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said today.
Rural Press is now owned by Fairfax Media Limited.
"The ACCC's investigation primarily focused on the aggregation of agricultural-related publications in the greater Riverina southern NSW area," Mr Samuel said.
"Inquiries with industry participants and advertisers indicated that if Rural Press/Fairfax attempted to raise prices above competitive levels in the relevant regional area, existing competitors including small to medium sized players would be well placed to win clients. The threat of new entry was also considered likely to act as a constraint on Rural Press/Fairfax.
"As a result, the ACCC considered the acquisition unlikely to substantially lessen competition under section 50 of the Trade Practices Act 1974," Mr Samuel said.
"The ACCC does not consider that the acquisition will allow Rural Press/Fairfax to profitably raise advertising rates or diminish the quality of content for these publications.
"The ACCC notes that Rural Press acquired Riverina Media Group, prior to Fairfax then acquiring Rural Press. The ACCC was not informed by Rural Press of the acquisition of Riverina Media before it took place," Mr Samuel said.
"Companies that do not approach the ACCC first, prior to completing acquisitions that potentially raise competition concerns, are adopting a risky strategy. The ACCC will not hesitate to seek court orders for divestiture if, during a post-acquisition review, it considers there was a breach of section 50 of the Act."
"In this case, the acquisition required detailed consideration, as reflected in the ACCC issuing a Statement of Issues in relation to the acquisition in August 2007. However, the ACCC has decided that significant competition concerns do not exist."