ComCom runs the ruler over Fletcher-Crane deal
The Commerce Commission has identified the issues relating to competition it will be looking at in the proposed Fletcher Building takeover of Crane Group
Hot Topic
Long reads
The Commerce Commission has published a statement of preliminary issues identifying what it will be looking at as it decides whether to approve Fletcher Building’s proposed 100% takeover of Crane Group.
In its assessment of the proposed deal, the commission has to determine whether it will substantially lessen competition in any particular market.
In New Zealand the main area of overlap between Fletcher Building and Crane Group are the manufacture and supply of pipes and pipe systems, the commission said in its statement.
The commission will be looking at the extent to which concrete pipes are substitutable for pipes made from plastic or other materials in respect of ‘large bore’ pipe systems.
It will also investigate the extent of any substitutability, and the ability of both suppliers and customers to switch between the different types of plastic
pipes.
The commission will assess whether “various customer groups such as construction/civil engineering, and rural/irrigation customers are significantly different such that they may form discrete customer markets.”
Finally, it will “investigate whether there are separate functional markets for the manufacture of pipe systems and the supply of pipe systems.”
However, the deal is not certain to go through, with Fletcher Building already having been forced to up its offer to Crane shareholders.
Niko Kloeten
Thu, 20 Jan 2011
Thu, 20 Jan 2011
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
ComCom runs the ruler over Fletcher-Crane deal
11678