Latest / Best of Business / Neil Anderson: lawyer says it's 'unlikely' that Foodstuffs' Commerce Commission appeal will succeed

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Neil Anderson: lawyer says it's 'unlikely' that Foodstuffs' Commerce Commission appeal will succeed · Best of Business

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  Speaker 2: Heather Do for sela So food Stuffs has announced it
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  Speaker 2: will appeal the Commos Commission's decision not to allow its
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  Speaker 2: merger of its North and South Island operations. Food Stuff's
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  Speaker 2: North Island CEO Chris quinn I was talking to Kerry
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  Speaker 2: wood In this morning and said he doesn't believe a
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  Speaker 2: merger will substantially lessen competition, just like the Commos Commission
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  Speaker 2: thinks it will.
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  Speaker 3: These are two regional cooperatives. We don't compete with each
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  Speaker 3: other in any way in a retail market, and we
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  Speaker 3: don't compete to buy groceries of suppliers now.
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  Speaker 2: Neil Anderson is a competition lawyer at amb Competition Lawyers
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  Speaker 2: and with US. Now hey, Neil, Hello. It's rare, isn't
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  Speaker 2: it for a court to overturn a Commos Commission decision
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  Speaker 2: like this one? Isn't it?
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  Speaker 4: It is rare, But it's actually rare for it to
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  Speaker 4: come in front of a court in the first place. Really,
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  Speaker 4: not a whole lot of declines by the Commas Commission
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  Speaker 4: are appealed for practical reasons more than anything else.
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  Speaker 2: Why do courts so rarely overturn them?
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  Speaker 4: Well, I think it's partly what I just said, which
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  Speaker 4: is there are very few instances of appeals actually been taken.
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  Speaker 4: I think it's primarily that. So, you know, the commercial parties,
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  Speaker 4: by the time they've been through a clearance process, you know,
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  Speaker 4: and then are faced with an appeal process which may
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  Speaker 4: push them out a fair six months, it's quite unusual
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  Speaker 4: for a deal to be able to survive that. Normally,
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  Speaker 4: if you get declined, that's the commercial parties walk away.
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  Speaker 4: So most declines of the Commons Commission aren't actually tested
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  Speaker 4: in the courts at all.
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  Speaker 2: So that would suggest that that that Food Stuffs believes
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  Speaker 2: it has a strong case right because this is going
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  Speaker 2: to cost them a lot of money and a lot
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  Speaker 2: of time taking this to court.
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  Speaker 1: Isn't it.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, it might be, But it may also just reflect
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  Speaker 4: that they're not on a burning platform with their transactions.
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  Speaker 4: So it's probably one that can be done at any time,
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  Speaker 4: and you know they can wait. You know there's not
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  Speaker 4: another buyer and the wings or you know that this
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  Speaker 4: is their only deal they have in front of them,
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  Speaker 4: and know they probably have the time to work through
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  Speaker 4: to a conclusion for a deal that they obviously think
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  Speaker 4: is valuable. So they are probably in a rare position
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  Speaker 4: commercially to actually pursue their legal rights.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Neil, thank you very much, Really appreciate your time.
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  Speaker 2: It's Neil Anderson, competition Lawyer at AMB Competition Lawyers.
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