Acquirer(s)

  • Cleanaway Waste Management Limited

Target(s)

  • Citywide Service Solutions Pty Ltd’s waste and recycling business

Summary

Cleanaway Waste Management Limited (Cleanaway) proposes to acquire, by way of a Business Sale Agreement, the waste and recycling business of Citywide Service Solutions Pty Ltd (Citywide Waste). Cleanaway also proposes to acquire a lease to operate the waste transfer station located at 391-395 Dynon Road in West Melbourne (Dynon Road).

Cleanaway and Citywide Waste both supply waste collection and disposal services in Melbourne.

Market definition

The ACCC considered the impact of the proposed acquisition in the supply of putrescible waste collections and disposal services to municipal customers and commercial and industrial customers in Melbourne. For the purposes of this assessment, the ACCC did not need to reach a concluded view on the boundaries of each market.

Competition analysis

The ACCC concluded that the proposed acquisition was not likely to substantially lessen competition in any market.

The ACCC’s investigation focussed on the impact of the Proposed Acquisition on competition in the supply of putrescible waste disposal services in Melbourne for commercial and industrial customers, given the proximity between Cleanaway’s Melbourne Regional Landfill and Citywide Waste’s Dynon Road transfer station.

The ACCC found that commercial and industrial customers with larger waste collection trucks can divert waste to other landfills and transfer stations. Further, the ACCC formed a view that, while some customers favoured Dynon Road transfer station due to its closeness to the Melbourne CBD and ease of access for smaller waste collection trucks, those customers do not currently view Melbourne Regional Landfill as a viable alternative.

The ACCC also found the proposed acquisition was not likely to substantially lessen competition in the supply of putrescible waste collection services to commercial and industrial customers or putrescible waste disposal and collection services to municipal customers in Melbourne, due to the presence of alternative providers of collection services and putrescible waste disposal services, as well as the limited importance of Dynon Road for many municipal customers.

ACCC correspondence

Statement of issues

Timeline

Date Event

ACCC commenced review under the Merger Process Guidelines.

Closing date for submissions.

Timeline suspended pending receipt of information from the parties. Former proposed date for announcement of findings (31 October 2024) was delayed.

ACCC received further information from the merger parties (on 8 October 2024). Timeline recommenced.

ACCC published a Statement of Issues outlining preliminary competition concerns.

Closing date for submissions relating to Statement of Issues.

Timeline suspended pending receipt of information from the parties. Former proposed decision date for announcement of findings (13 February 2025) was delayed.

ACCC received further information from the merger parties. Timeline recommenced.

Timeline suspended pending receipt of information from parties. Former proposed date for announcement of findings (3 April 2025) was delayed. ACCC will announce a revised proposed decision date in due course.

ACCC received further information from parties. ACCC amended former provisional date for announcement of findings to 15 May 2025.

ACCC announced it would not oppose the proposed acquisition.