The Commerce Commission has received an application from Spark New Zealand Trading Limited (Spark) seeking clearance to acquire the management rights to 70MHz of radio spectrum in the 2300MHz band from Craig Wireless Spectrum Operations Limited (Craig NZ) and Woosh Wireless Holdings Limited (Woosh NZ).
The Commerce Commission has received an application from Spark New Zealand Trading Limited (Spark) seeking clearance to acquire the management rights to 70MHz of radio spectrum in the 2300MHz band from Craig Wireless Spectrum Operations Limited (Craig NZ) and Woosh Wireless Holdings Limited (Woosh NZ).
The management rights being acquired by Spark have not been used since being awarded in 2007 and will expire on 31 December 2016 if they are not used to provide a service. Prior to completion of the transaction, Spark will be required to enter into a Management Rights Agreement with the Crown committing it to offering a fixed wireless broadband access service.
A public version of Spark’s application is available on the Clearances Register.
Background
When considering a proposed merger, the Commission must determine whether the 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.
