Overhaul of Australia's Merger Regime to Impact Corporate Giants and Smaller Companies

An overhaul of the country’s merger regime will make it harder for deals to go ahead in markets dominated by a handful of corporate giants, but could also be costly for smaller companies, experts say.on Wednesday that include requiring the country’s competition watchdog be notified of planned mergers and removing the Federal Court from the review process.

Former ACCC chair Rod Sims said the changes would give the watchdog greater power to block technology giants from buying out smaller rivals – an area of concern for the ACCC. However, the changes could also impact smaller companies. Muys said the proposed reforms could be costly for small and mid-cap firms in particular.

Muys said removing the Federal Court from the merger process would reduce transparency, and the watchdog’s accountability by limiting the scope of review available for parties who are unhappy with a decision. “The average period for the ACCC to process merger authorisations has been 171 days, with the longest being 260 days – a long way from the existing 90-day statutory requirement,” he said, noting the need for adequate resourcing to avoid further bottlenecks.

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