The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will not oppose the acquisition by The Cooper Companies Inc of Ocular Sciences Inc, ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, announced today.
The Cooper Group and Ocular Sciences Inc are based in the United States and are global suppliers of contact lenses. Following the acquisition, the merged firm will have a significant presence in all major contact lens product categories in all major markets around the world.
Both companies have Australian subsidiaries, namely Hydron Pty Ltd and Ocular Sciences Australia Pty Ltd respectively. Hydron and Ocular distribute a range of contact lenses throughout Australia. Hydron is currently the third largest supplier in Australia and Ocular the fifth.
"Following market inquiries among competitors, retailers and optometrists, the ACCC found that the merged firm would face competition from other global suppliers, including Johnson and Johnson, CIBA Vision and Bausch and Lomb", Mr Samuel said. "The parties and their main competitors all import a large majority of their Australian supplies. The ACCC concluded that given the competition amongst these global suppliers the acquisition would be unlikely to result in a substantial lessening of competition".