Silver Top Taxi Service Limited - proposed acquisition of Murrell Enterprises Pty Ltd trading as Bay City Cabs (BCC)

Summary

Silver Top Taxi Service Limited - Proposed acquisition of certain assets from Murrell Enterprises Pty Ltd and joint venture arrangement with Geelong Radio Cabs Cooperative Limited (STTS's proposed transaction).

Market definition

The ACCC considered the following markets in its assessment of the proposed transaction:

- An east coast market for the provision of dispatch services;
- Markets for the provision of taxi depot services to taxi licence holders/ operators licensed in the Geelong or Bellarine or Torquay taxi zones (Markets for the provision of taxi depot services); and
- Markets for the provision of taxi hire services by taxi licence holders/ operators to the public in Geelong, Bellarine and Torquay (Markets for the provision of taxi hire services).

Competition analysis

In reaching its conclusion not to oppose STTS's proposed transaction, the ACCC took into account, amongst other factors:

- Efficiencies resulting from access to state-of-the-art dispatch services, improved economies of scale in the provision of taxi depot services and the provision of taxi hire services in Geelong;
- Availability of substitutes for the provision of dispatch services;
- Moderately low barriers to entry for entry into the Geelong market for the provision of taxi depot services;
- No market concentration increases in the Bellarine and Torquay markets for taxi depot services and the Bellarine and Torquay taxi hire services; and
- The regulation of the provision of taxi hire services in Geelong including pricing is the responsibility of the Victorian Taxi Directorate.