Henry Schein Regional Pty Ltd - acquisition of Halas Dental Limited.

Henry Schein Regional Pty Ltd - acquisition of Halas Dental Limited from Australian Pharmaceutical Industries.

The Australian market for the supply of dental materials, medicaments and consumables (dental consumables).

In July 2005 the ACCC decided not to oppose the acquisition by Henry Schein Regional Pty Ltd of Halas Dental Ltd pursuant to section 50 of the Trade Practices Act 1975, for the following reasons:

* The prevalence of imports in the dental consumables market, the variety of sources from which imports can be obtained and the availability of new sources of imports suggests that the merged firm's ability to increase prices and profit margins is likely to be constrained by import competition;

* With the exception of the requirement for Therapeutic Goods Administration approval for some dental consumable products, the existence of relatively low barriers to entry and expansion in this market, as evidenced by recent new entry to the market, will act as a constraint to the merged firm; and

* Even if Henry Schein/Halas Dental's combined market share is large any attempts by the merged firm to exercise market power is likely to be constrained by customers who are likely to switch easily to other suppliers because in the dental consumables market:
(a) substitute products and brands are widely available; and
(b) customers are generally characterised by price-sensitivity rather than brand/distributor loyalty.