Infratil gets green light to buy into Vodafone
The Commerce Commission has given clearance for Infratil to buy a 50 per cent stake in Vodafone.
Commerce Commission chairwoman Anna Rawlings said the commission was satisfied Infratil’s proposed shareholding in Vodafone and Trustpower would not substantially lessen competition in relevant markets.
Infratil is a Wellington investment company with interests including a 51 per cent share of Trustpower. Infratil submitted to the commission that Vodafone and Trustpower would continue to operate as independent companies.
‘‘While Trustpower has in the past been an aggressive competitor in residential broadband, with a particular focus on energy and broadband bundles, several other multi-utility providers have similarly emerged including Vocus, Nova Energy and Contact Energy,’’ Rawlings said.
‘‘2Degrees and Stuff are also competing effectively in the residential broadband market alongside Spark and MyRepublic,’’ she said.
Infratil and Brookfield Asset Management are buying Vodafone New Zealand for $3.4 billon and holding a 50:50 share of the telecommunications company.
In reaching its decision, the commission focused on the possible impact of the proposed acquisition in the national markets for the retail supply of broadband and mobile services.
‘‘As it stands, Vodafone and Trustpower are not each other’s closest competitors and even in regions where they would hold high market shares, such as Bay of Plenty and Wellington, they will continue to face effective competition from several other national operators,’’ Rawlings said.
‘‘Consistent with the mobile market study preliminary findings, we consider competition in mobile markets is generally driven by the three network operators and is therefore unlikely to be affected by Infratil’s acquisition. For these reasons, we are satisfied that the proposed transaction should be granted clearance.’’
Its analysis of the proposed acquisition was based on the conservative assumption that the businesses of Trustpower and Vodafone could be combined, it said.
In May, when Vodafone announced the sale of Vodafone New Zealand to Infratil and Canadian firm Brookfield, Vodafone NZ boss Jason Paris said it would give customers ‘‘the best of both worlds’’. Paris said the business would be allowed to use the Vodafone brand for as long as it wanted, for an undisclosed fee.