Delay on Trade Me takeover decision
Trade Me will have to wait almost another two months to find out whether it will get clearance from the Commerce Commission to take over Christchurch software firm Motorcentral.
Motorcentral sells software that is used to run about 500 independent car dealerships, many of which specialise in selling Japanese imports.
If the competition watchdog decides not to approve the takeover, Trade Me Motors faces the threat of ongoing competition from Needacar.
Needacar is a listings website set up last month by Motorcentral that advertises about 23,000 vehicles stocked by its customers.
Trade Me originally applied for clearance to buy 15-person Limelight Software, which trades as Motorcentral, in July, saying it would continue to operate it as a ‘‘standalone business’’.
But anonymous objectors told the commission that Trade Me could make it harder for dealers to upload listings to rival websites, such as Autotrader and AA Carfair, if the deal went ahead.
The result would be that Trade Me’s already strong position in the vehicle listings market would be strengthened at the expense of competitors, they argued.
The commission had been due to issue its ruling yesterday, after a previous delay, but does not now expect to announce a decision until December 21.
A spokeswoman for the watchdog explained it was continuing to investigate the competition issues arising from the merger.
Trade Me spokesman Paul Ford said it was keen for the process to conclude as soon as it can, ‘‘but just like everyone else, it’s a matter of wait and see’’.
Trade Me Motors is the second-largest earner for Trade Me, bringing in revenues of $64 million last year.
That was more than Trade Me Jobs and Trade Me Property combined, and only slightly less than the $70m in fees Trade Me earned from its ‘‘general items’’ marketplace.
Trade Me charges between $10 and $50 for listing vehicles for sale at prices below $5000, and between $70 and $100 for higher priced vehicles, after an overall fee rise in March.