The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced on Thursday, November 8, it will not oppose the proposed merger between Nine Entertainment and Fairfax Media.
The ACCC examined a number of markets affected by this proposed merger. Australian news, including online news, current affairs reporting, and investigative journalism, was the key issue, and in particular whether the merger would substantially lessen competition in the creation and provision of Australian news content.
The merger investigation was extensive and involved contact with hundreds of stakeholders, consideration of the more than 1,000 submissions, and examination of internal documents the ACCC compelled from both Nine and Fairfax.
“While the merger between these two big name media players raised a number of extremely complex issues, and will likely reduce competition, we concluded that the proposed merger was not likely to substantially lessen competition in any market in breach of the Competition and Consumer Act,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
