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ARTICLE · 04 JUNE 2009

Creeping Acquisitions - The Way Forward?

DLA Piper Australia
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The Commonwealth Government released its discussion paper on ‘Creeping Acquisitions - The Way Forward’ on 6 May 2009.

AustraliaAntitrust/Competition Law
Fleur Gibbons
Fleur Gibbons
Richard Owens
Richard Owens
Geoff Taperell
Geoff Taperell
Simon Uthmeyer
Simon Uthmeyer

The Commonwealth Government released its discussion paper on 'Creeping Acquisitions - The Way Forward' on 6 May 2009. The paper proposes adding a new limb to the merger test in section 50 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) (TPA) that will prohibit corporations that have a substantial degree of power in a market making acquisitions that 'enhance' their market power. Submissions have been requested by 12 June 2009. This update outlines the proposals in the latest discussion paper and the potential implications for businesses if those proposals are adopted.

This latest discussion paper follows on from an initial discussion paper on creeping acquisitions that was released on 1 September 2008. The 2008 discussion paper and the reasons why creeping acquisitions are considered by the Government to be a concern are discussed in our December 2008 publication 'Creeping Acquisitions: Should you be concerned about proposed changes to merger restrictions?'.

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