Target(s)
- Babcock & Brown Power's Uranquinty Power Station
Summary
Origin Energy Limited announced that it has acquired the Uranquinty Power Station from Babcock and Brown Power on 4 July 2008.Market definition
The ACCC considered the relevant markets to be:- The wholesale supply of electricity in New South Wales,
- The supply of financial (hedge) contracts to New South Wales electricity retailers, and
- The retail supply of electricity to residential customers in New South Wales.
Competition analysis
The ACCC considered that Origin faces sufficient competitive constraints post-acquisition and that the acquisition is unlikely to cause a substantial lessening of competition in any of the relevant markets. This conclusion was informed by the following factors:- The competitive constraint posed by the three state-owned generation businesses in NSW.
- The substantial market share of the major state-owned electricity retailers and the presence of a number of competing privately-owned electricity retailers in NSW.
- Origin's limited presence in the generation market and current absence of interest in any generation assets in NSW.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 04/07/2008 | Origin Energy acquired Babcock & Brown Power's Uranquinty Power Station. |
| 07/07/2008 | ACCC commenced review under the Merger Review Process Guidelines. |
| 21/07/2008 | Closing date for submissions from interested parties. |
| 01/08/2008 | ACCC announced it would not oppose the acquisition. |