Sky, Vodafone push for merger
Sky Television and Vodafone New Zealand will go to the High Court to argue the Commerce Commission got it wrong when it said their merger might substantially lessen competition.
Spark, which objected to the merger, said it might go in to bat on the side of the commission.
Sky released details yesterday of the grounds on which the companies plan to appeal the competition watchdog’s refusal in February to clear their merger.
Law firm Bell Gully, acting for Sky and Vodafone, said the regulator was wrong to think Vodafone’s rivals in the broadband and mobile markets might need access to Sky Sports to effectively compete against the merged firm.
The appeal claim said the commission misjudged a lot of incentives on the merged firm and failed to consider the prospects of the merged firm offering its programming to rival telecommunications providers on competitive terms.
A commission spokesman said it could not comment as the matter was before the court.
It is understood that if other parties, such as Spark, wanted to join the action on the side of the commission, that would likely be raised at a case management hearing late next month.
Some of the arguments set out in the eight-page amended notice of appeal filed by Bell Gully were redacted to ‘‘remove confidential information’’.
The commission failed to place sufficient weight on the benefits of the proposed merger, including the possibility that the merger would help Sky and Vodafone develop new products and achieve ‘‘dynamic efficiencies’’, the notice claimed.
Sky and Vodafone also alleged the commission made errors in law. The companies will ask the High Court to reverse the commission’s decision to refuse clearance for their merger.
Spark spokesman Richard Llewellyn said its views on the merger had not changed.
The Commerce Commission’s ruling left ‘‘very little room for doubt’’ about the harm the merger would cause to New Zealand consumers, he said.
New bidder for Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media has opened its books to buyers after the emergence of a second bidder. US private equity firm Hellman & Friedman made an indicative offer of about A$2.9 billion (NZ$3.1b), which would include Fairfax’s New Zealand assets. This topped a proposal from a consortium led by TPG Capital, which had suggested a price of just under A$2.8b. Hellman & Friedman would pay between A$1.225 and A$1.25 for each share, while TPG’s proposal was priced at $1.20 a share. Fairfax said in a statement to the ASX that it had invited both suitors to conduct due diligence on the company.
Tobacco firm charged
The Ministry of Health has laid charges against tobacco company Philip Morris New Zealand, relating to a new type of non-burning tobacco product. The product, Iqos, was launched at the end of last year. It was promoted through an invitationonly website and used a batterypowered holder to heat tobacco sticks known as heets to give off vapour rather than smoke. The ministry said it considered heets were tobacco products designed for oral use other than for smoking and were prohibited under the SmokeFree Environments Act. The charges have been laid at the Wellington District Court and the case has been set down for first hearing on June 2.
Spark collared for adverts
Spark has been collared for using the work of popular meme-maker WeRateDogs in a social media advertising campaign. WeRateDogs, which has more than 2 million followers on Twitter, growled after several humorously labelled dog photos appeared in a Spark advert on Facebook. Spokesman Richard Llewellyn said Spark didn’t know if there was ‘‘a legal copyright issue’’ but had made a mistake. Spark had apologised to WeRateDogs and taken down its advertisement, he said, clarifying that the photos themselves were ‘‘stock images’’.
Call centre brings 140 jobs
California-based Workday, a human resources IT company, plans to open an international call centre in Auckland, creating up to 140 jobs. Workday’s software links a company’s financial, HR, talent, recruitment, payroll, and analytics applications through a cloud service. The company has more than 1500 clients worldwide, including more than 100 in New Zealand such as Fletcher Building, Xero and Air New Zealand. Senior vice-president Chris Byrne said Auckland appealed to the company ‘‘due to its willing and talented workforce and the country’s Privacy Act, which is in line with Workday’s privacy commitments to customers’’.
Adviser admits forgery
A former registered financial adviser has admitted forging client initials on life insurance application forms, and in one case falsely amending the application form. Anthony Wilson pleaded guilty to two charges of making a false document for pecuniary advantage. The charges were filed by the Financial Markets Authority. He earlier pleaded guilty to one charge of making a false document for pecuniary advantage and one charge of dishonestly using a document for pecuniary advantage. The FMA has withdrawn two further charges. Wilson will be sentenced on all four charges on July 12.