Photo credit: Ry Crozier - Telstra
The Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) ruled that Telstra's planned acquisition of Digicel PNG would not impair competition in the telecommunications industry, thus the deal is likely to go forward.
Members of the public can still offer their opinions, which will be taken into account, according to the commissioner and chief executive officer Paulus Ain.
This comes after the ICCC determined that the planned transaction will not reduce competition in the telecommunications industry.
The ICCC will give the deal the go light, according to Ain in a draft judgment.
The public will now be invited to comment on the proposed merger.
“After careful consideration of the information provided in Telstra’s clearance application, as well as comments received from both industry participants and relevant stakeholders, including available market information, the ICCC concluded in its draft determination that the proposed acquisition will not have, or will not be likely to have, the effect of substantially lessening competition in any telecommunication services market,” Ain said.
“The ICCC, therefore, proposes to give clearance to Telstra to proceed with the proposed acquisition.
“The ICCC now invites persons who may have an interest in the proposed acquisition to provide comments and or make submissions on the draft determination.”
Except for material designated "secret" by the sender, he added, all contributions will be viewed as public information. "Where the material is designated secret, the submitter must explain justification(s) for why that information should not be made public or kept private.
“The ICCC will assess and decide on the confidentiality claim(s),” he said.
“All comments and submissions should reach the ICCC by Jan 25, 2022.”
Reference: The National (7 January 2021). “ICCC to give Telstra clearance”.
