Broader Public Benefits in Mergers: An Australian Case Study.

When announcing sweeping reforms to Australia's merger control regime in April 2023, ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb reaffirmed the ability in Australia's competition law framework to consider broader public benefits. [21] Similarly, a recent determination stated the ACCC "may give less weight to public benefits that may not to endure in the longer term."[22] The three merger authorizations below illustrate how Australia's Tribunal has evaluated whether the requirements of the "public benefit" concept are met. She noted the valuable flexibility that considering broader public benefits enabled, "where a merger may have the effect of substantially lessening competition but would nonetheless provide real, verifiable and significant public benefits."[5] Australia's broader approach to assessing public benefits in mergers provides the world with a rare example of how merger review can incorporate public interest concerns. Australia's merger process Australia has two processes for approving mergers: a merger clearance process that focuses on whether a merger would be likely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition; and a merger authorization process that focuses on a merger's public benefits. [Extracted from the article]