Eureka Operations Pty Ltd trading as Coles Express - s.87B undertaking

On 15 December 2015, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission accepted a court enforceable undertaking from Eureka Operations Pty Ltd trading as Coles Express (Coles Express):

• not to enter into any price information sharing service agreement that is similar to the one operated by Informed Sources (Australia) Pty Ltd (Informed Sources); and
• not to give effect to any such arrangement at the expiration of the current term of its agreement with Informed Sources in April 2016.

The Federal Court also ordered, by consent, that the proceedings against Coles Express be discontinued and it noted the undertaking.

On 19 August 2014, the ACCC instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against Informed Sources and five petrol retailers (BP Australia Pty Ltd, Caltex Australia Petroleum Pty Ltd, Woolworths Ltd,7-Eleven Stores Pty Ltd and Coles Express).

The ACCC alleges that the information sharing arrangements between Informed Sources and the petrol retailers, through a service provided by Informed Sources, has the effect or likely effect of substantially lessening competition in markets for the sale of petrol in Melbourne in contravention of section 45(2) of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-takes-action-against-informed-sources-and-petrol-retailers-for-price-information-sharing

On 19 August 2015 the ACCC also accepted a court enforceable undertaking from Mobil Oil Australia Pty Ltd (Mobil), in which Mobil agreed that it would not subscribe to the retail petrol price information exchange service supplied by Informed Sources for the next five years. The ACCC did not join Mobil to the proceedings after taking into account the undertaking it provided and that Mobil ceased subscribing to the Informed Sources service some time prior to commencing the proceedings. https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/mobil-undertakes-to-not-subscribe-to-petrol-price-information-sharing-services.