Last month the Commerce Commission (Commission) issued a formal warning to Consolidated Alloys (N.Z.) Limited (Consolidated Alloys) for including an “anti-competitive clause” in a negotiated settlement with its competitor Edging Systems (NZ) Limited (Edging Systems). The clause was included in a settlement agreement to resolve a commercial dispute involving Edging Systems’ alleged breach of Consolidated …
Harvey Norman – when is a price the right price? Australasian retailer Harvey Norman launched its “New Zealand’s Biggest Retail Sale” promotion last week. However due to a technical computer glitch some goods, including lounge suites, were mistakenly advertised online for less than $100 when their intended price was significantly more. According to media reports, …
We raise this question due to a provocative observation of Dr Kaj Storbacka during a presentation by Dr Storbacka and Dr Suvi Nenonen* “The Importance of Market Innovations for New Zealand” at a Law and Economics Association of New Zealand seminar on 27 August. Dr Storbacka noted that during his extensive management consulting and academic …
On 6 August the Commerce Commission published its Statement of Preliminary Issues (SOPI) for Z Energy Limited’s application to acquire Chevron New Zealand. SOPIs are published for the vast majority of clearance applications and are intended to “outline the key competition issues [that the Commission] currently consider[s] to be important in deciding whether or not …
The ACCC has today announced that it has been unsuccessful in two high profile appeals relating to Flight Centre & ANZ – both of which deal with issues of “agency” in the competition/antitrust context. The end result of these two appeals goes some way to reconciling what were two seemingly conflicting judgments. Read more about …
Nicko Waymouth, Senior Associate at Matthews Law, has been nominated by in-house counsel and his peers to appear in the inaugural edition of the Legal Media Group (LMG) Rising Stars 2015 guide – an international publication that identifies the brightest young talent in 28 practice areas of law. LMG also publishes other well-known international legal …
In our most recent newsletter, we discuss the ACCC’s announcement this week that it has commenced civil proceedings against eleven parties for alleged bid rigging conduct involving mining exploration licences in NSW. In the wake of this week’s allegations of corruption at FIFA, we also pose the question of whether sporting body monopolies lead to …
Andy Matthews & Gus Stewart recently contributed an article in the April 2015 edition of Antitrust News, the newsletter of the International Bar Association Legal Practice Division. The article covers: – New Zealand’s new ‘unfair contract terms’ regime comes into force – NZCC’s investigation into Air NZ’s ‘opt-out’ insurance results in a win for consumers …
On Thursday 30 April the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced that it will take no further action in respect of comments made by Andrew Forrest, Chairman of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, about iron ore production. The ACCC commenced a review of Mr Forrest’s comments following an article in the Australian Financial Review on …
The Commerce Commission (NZCC) has today declined an application from Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB), owners of the “Durex” brand, to purchase Johnson & Johnson’s “K-Y” brand and product assets. The acquisition had been approved by regulators in Australia, USA, Brazil, and Colombia, and a decision is scheduled to be made by the UK’s Competition and …