The Commerce Commission was scheduled to make a decision before the agreed date of 21 June 2018. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) was undertaking its own assessment of the proposed merger.

Background

MYOB is a limited liability company incorporated in Australia and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. MYOB provides software solutions to businesses and accounting practices in New Zealand and Australia. It was seeking clearance to acquire the Accountants Group business of Reckon which provides accounting, tax, and other software to accounting practices under the Reckon APS brand.

When considering a proposed merger, the Commission must determine whether any competition that would be lost with the merger would be substantial. We will give clearance to a proposed merger only if we are satisfied that the merger is unlikely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.

A fact sheet explaining how the Commission assesses a merger application is available on the clearances page.