In a speech to the Law Council of Australia on Friday morning, Mr Sims said consumers and small businesses were increasingly being squeezed by corporate giants hoovering up smaller rivals.
Mr Sims said Australia’s informal merger regime where companies seek the ACCC’s views about whether an acquisition can proceed had prompted lawyers to threaten that their clients would complete transactions before it has finished its review and approach other agencies to circumvent the regulator. ‘We need a mindset change. Our economy would be better served by more companies deciding to compete rather than to acquire.’These acquisitions could not proceed until the ACCC gave clearance. For potentially problematic acquisitions below the threshold, the corporate watchdog would have “call in” powers.
“It is beyond debate that acquisitions have taken place that have contributed significantly to the substantial market power of the digital platforms,” he said. “With the benefit of hindsight, they should not have been allowed to proceed.”