Market definition
The ACCC considered the effect of the proposed acquisition in the respective markets for bread, bakery snacks and flour in Tasmania.Competition analysis
The acquisition would result in George Weston Foods acquiring Cripps Nubake, (which operates a plant bread baking business in Tasmania) and Tasmanian Flour Mills (which operates the only flour mill in Tasmania).The ACCC considered that the acquisition would not result in a substantial lessening of competition in the respective markets for bread, bakery snacks or flour in Tasmania. In particular, the ACCC considered that George Weston Foods would largely inherit Cripps Nubake's market shares in the bread and bakery snacks markets. Market inquiries suggested that while the majority of flour in Tasmania was supplied by Tasmanian Flour Mills, significant amounts of flour are being imported into Tasmania from the mainland, including by George Weston Foods. The proposed acquisition would therefore reduce the number of flour suppliers from four to three. However, market inquiries generally confirmed that the remaining flour suppliers would be likely to provide a sufficient competitive constraint on the merged entity.
Initiation
Parties