Australian Competition Tribunal grants first direct merger authorisation (Macquarie Generation, AGL Energy)
Julie Clarke
25 June 2014, e-Competitions Bulletin September 2014-II, Art. N° 68908
Abstract/summary
On 25 June 2014 the Australian Competition Tribunal (Tribunal) handed down its first direct authorisation decision, approving the AU$1.505 billion acquisition by AGL Energy Limited of the assets of Macquarie Generation (MacGen), a state-owned corporation (AGL-MacGen). The authorisation decision followed advice from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ( ACCC) that it would oppose the proposed deal. The Tribunal disagreed with the ACCC’s assessment of the likely anti-competitive impact of the merger and also considered that there were public benefits associated with the proposal that justified allowing it to proceed. On 3 Sept 2014 AGL announced it completed the $1,505 million acquisition of MacGen assets from the NSW Government.
