Dye and Durham acquiring PNG Registries

The National Business

THE Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) has approved Dye and Durham Corporation’s (D&D) proposal to acquire all shares in PNG Registries Pty Ltd (PNG Registries).
ICCC acting chief executive officer Brian Ivosa said the proposed acquisition would not substantially lessen competition in any markets in the country.
The ICCC formed the following conclusions in its assessment of the application:

  • D&D has no business operations anywhere in PNG and the proposed acquisition would only change the ownership of PNG Registries;
  • THE ICCC also considered that the acquisition would not remove PNG Registries in the provision of registry services in PNG;
  • THE ICCC considered that the barriers to entry in the provision of share registry services are high due to the high startup costs and the limited or low volume of publicly listed companies and their share transactions. The ICCC considered that the proposed acquisition would not affect the level of barriers to entry in the market by either enhancing or decreasing them; and,
  • DUE to the nature of the registry services market, the ICCC considered that it is unlikely for a third competitor to be a viable entrant due to the market reaching its maximum efficient scale.

Ivosa also explained the requirements of the law governing the clearance process.
“The ICCC Act requires that if the ICCC is satisfied that a proposed acquisition which is subject of a clearance application would not have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a relevant market, the ICCC must give a clearance,” Ivoso said.
“In this case, the ICCC was satisfied that the acquisition of PNG Registries by D&D is not likely to result in substantial lessening of competition in any markets in PNG.
“Basically, D&D has passed the clearance test, hence the acquisition must be approved.”