Bureau Veritas - proposed acquisition of Inspectorate
Type of assessment
Informal Review
Reference
42658
Acquirer(s)
Bureau Veritas International SAS
Target(s)
Inspectorate Group Holdings Ltd and Inspectorate Pledgeco Inc
Industry
Geochemical testing of minerals
Summary
Bureau Veritas proposed to acquire Inspectorate Group Holdings Ltd and Inspectorate Pledgeco Inc from Inspicio Ltd. The parties both provide mineral testing services.
Outcome of assessment
Not opposed
Total review days *
31
Commenced public review
2nd July 2010
Date completed
13th August 2010
Market definition
For the purpose of this competition assessment, the ACCC considered the competitive effects of the proposed acquisition in the context of the market for the supply of geochemical mineral testing services in Western Australia.
Competition analysis
The ACCC concluded that the proposed acquisition was unlikely to substantially lessen competition in the relevant market. In forming this view, the ACCC had regard to the following factors:
- the presence of other well-established competitive suppliers in the market, notably ALS, Intertek and SGS, that are global competitors with significant and diverse Australian operations;
- limited competition between Bureau Veritas and Inspectorate given that Inspectorate is a relatively small supplier and focuses on testing gold samples;
- the excess capacity in the market and relatively low barriers to expansion;
- relatively low barriers to entry; and
- no significant barriers to customers switching providers.
Review timeline
Date
Event
2nd July 2010
ACCC commenced review under the Merger Review Process Guidelines.
23rd July 2010
Closing date for submissions from interested parties.
13th August 2010
ACCC announced it would not oppose the proposed acquisition.
* Total Review days = Total business days less public holidays and time during which the review was suspended.
