The Commerce Commission has published a Statement of Preliminary Issues relating to MYOB Group Limited’s (MYOB) proposed acquisition of the Accountants Group business of Reckon Limited (Reckon).

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 is 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.

The statement outlines the key competition issues that the Commission considers important in deciding whether or not to grant clearance to the proposed merger. A copy can be found on the Commission’s Clearances Register.

The Commission invites interested parties to provide comments on the likely competitive effects of the proposed acquisition. Submissions can be sent by email to registrar@comcom.govt.nz with the reference “MYOB/Reckon” in the subject line. Any submissions should be received by close of business on Friday 12 January 2018.

Background

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.