ACCC to conduct competition assessment of Macquarie Media group's proposed acquisition of Southern Cross Broadcasting

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will be conducting a competition assessment of Macquarie Media Group's proposed acquisition of Southern Cross Broadcasting, ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said today.

The ACMA today announced that it has approved applications from Macquarie Media Group to acquire Southern Cross Broadcasting and has accepted undertakings from Macquarie Media Group which require certain divestitures under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.

"In this instance, Macquarie Media Group chose to seek approval for its proposal from the ACMA before the ACCC was able to commence market inquiries and undertake a comprehensive assessment of any competition issues. The ACCC would prefer to carry out its inquiries concurrent with the ACMA process as this is likely to be more efficient. However, this is dependant on the merging parties providing the ACCC with the appropriate information and in this case, the ACCC has not yet received all of the necessary information from Macquarie Media Group.

"While the ACMA's assessment of the proposal has concluded, the ACCC has a separate role in assessing the proposal for any impact on competition under the Trade Practices Act 1974.

"As the focus of the ACCC's assessment differs from the focus of the ACMA's review, the ACCC will conduct a separate assessment of the proposed acquisition, including extensive market inquiries. The ACCC can not assume that resolving Broadcasting Services Act issues through specific undertakings will necessarily resolve competition issues as well, and so the ACCC will be reviewing the effects of this proposed acquisition in locations that involve any aggregation of assets.

"If the ACCC receives the information it has requested from Macquarie Media Group shortly, the ACCC will commence its review and expects to finalise its review by mid-September," Mr Samuel said.

The ACCC is also assessing Fairfax's proposed acquisition of Southern Cross Broadcasting's metropolitan radio stations and of Macquarie Media Group's acquisition of several regional radio stations from Fairfax.

For more information regarding the ACCC's process and its assessment, is available at the ACCC's website.