News Limited acquired the Noosa Journal, a free "community style" newspaper distributed in Noosa.
Outcome of assessment
Not opposed
Total review days *
38
Commenced public review
16th October 2006
Date completed
6th December 2006
Market definition
The ACCC concluded that the product dimension of the market included free, suburban newspapers. It recognised the possibility that other media might be part of the market but did not need to resolve this issue for the purposes of this assessment. The geographic dimension of the market was considered likely to be the Noosa area on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.
Competition analysis
Prior to the acquisition News Limited did not own any free community newspapers in Noosa. In addition, another free community newspaper, the Noosa News, is published in Noosa by APN. Consequently, the ACCC concluded that there were no competition concerns and decided not to oppose the acquisition.
Review timeline
Date
Event
16th October 2006
ACCC commenced review under the Merger Review Process Guidelines. Market inquiries commenced
6th December 2006
ACCC decided not to oppose the acquisition
* Total Review days = Total business days less public holidays and time during which the review was suspended.
