Gallagher Holdings Limited - s.87B undertaking

On 18 December 2013, the ACCC accepted an undertaking (the Undertaking) from Gallagher Holdings Limited (Gallagher) in relation to its proposed acquisition of the assets of Country Electronic Pty Ltd, trading as Thunderbird Agricultural Products (the Proposed Acquisition).

The Undertaking requires that Gallagher divests its shareholding held in the company Tru-Test to an ACCC-approved purchaser or purchasers. The ACCC has approved Tru-Test and another confidential purchaser as approved purchasers of the shareholding.

The ACCC considered that in the absence of the Undertaking, the Proposed Acquisition would have had the effect or have been likely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in the market for the supply of electric fence energisers in Australia.

The Undertaking's objective is to address the ACCC's competition concerns which would otherwise arise as a consequence of the Proposed Acquisition by maintaining the level of competition which existed before the Proposed Acquisition, through:

i. requiring Gallagher to divest its shareholding held in Tru-Test with in a set timeframe;
ii. maintaining the independence of Tru-Test and Gallagher while Gallagher remains a shareholder, by ensuring that Gallagher does not exercise any influence over Tru-Test, and vice versa; and
iii. providing for the effective oversight of Gallagher's compliance with the Undertaking.