Australia: ACCC weighs Bingo’s proposed divestment

Bingo Industries has offered to divest its eastern Sydney waste processing plant to address antitrust concerns related to the waste management firm’s planned acquisition of Dial-aDump, Australia’s competition regulator stated on Tuesday, January 8.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in November announced the deal could have negative impacts on the market for processing, landfill, and the collection of building and demolition waste.

The ACCC was consulting on the proposal and will make a final decision on the matter by February 21, it stated.

The regulator added that Bingo’s proposed divestment did not include any obligations regarding its landfill sites and it was continuing its investigation of this market.

Bingo announced the AU$577.5 million (US$421.7 million) acquisition of its smaller rival in August in a bid to take advantage of a Chinese ban on waste imports. The deal could make the company the biggest waste collector in Sydney, Australia’s most populous city.

“The DADI (Dial-aDump) acquisition is transformational for Bingo and we remain committed to working with the ACCC to reach a suitable outcome,” Bingo’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Daniel Tartak said in a separate statement.

“We believe that this acquisition is inherently pro-competitive as it enables us to more readily compete against the larger national and international players in the industry,” he added.

Full Content: Reuters

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