The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today released a Statement of Issues in relation to the proposed merger between Lake Imaging and Western Medical Imaging.
A Statement of Issues is not a final decision, but gives the parties and the public some guidance on the preliminary issues the ACCC has identified and intends to investigate further.
The Statement of Issues seeks further information on certain competition issues which have arisen from the ACCC's market inquiries relating to the provision of high acuity diagnostic imaging reporting services in Ballarat, and the provision of diagnostic imaging services in Ballarat.
The ACCC seeks further information and views as to the strength of current competitors in the diagnostic imaging and diagnostic imaging reporting services markets, and the ability and incentive for the proposed entity to foreclose competition in the diagnostic imaging market.
The ACCC invites further submissions from the market focused on these matters by 7 March 2008. To allow for submissions in response to the Statement of Issues, the ACCC's final decision will be deferred until 20 March 2008.
Submissions can be sent by email to the ACCC at: mergers@accc.gov.au.
The Statement of Issues will be available on the ACCC's website, under Mergers. For more information regarding the ACCC's process and its assessment, please consult the ACCC's website.