Sensis (advertising subsidiary of Telstra) acquired a range of assets of LookSmart Ltd (the Australian assets of LookSmart International Pty Ltd). Assets include online search tools and staff.
Outcome
Not Opposed
Date completed
5th March 2004
Merger type
Horizontal
Guidelines thresholds
Unknown
Imports about 10%
Unknown
Market definition
Various relevant markets were considered, including online directory services, online advertising and marketing, and online search services.
Competition analysis
Based on the information provided and other material, staff considered that there was unlikely to be a substantial lessening of competition, due to:
- LookSmart and Sensis essentially operating in different segments of the market for Online Advertising and Marketing;
- The acquisition allowing Sensis to become more involved in Online Search Services through the use of a "pay for performance" auctioning tool, which it did not previously have; and
- Looksmart is able to continue operations in its own right.
