The Commerce Commission has received a clearance application from Trade Me Limited (Trade Me) to acquire up to 100% of the shares in Limelight Software Limited, trading as Motorcentral.

Trade Me is an online marketplace and classified advertising platform, based in New Zealand. Relevant to the acquisition, Trade Me operates the "Trade Me Motors" business division, which includes: Trade Me Motors' provision of online vehicle classified advertising; AutoBase (an online vehicle classified advertising website); DealerBase (aggregator software for motor vehicle dealers); and MotorWeb (a provider of motor vehicle information and reports).

Motorcentral supplies software and websites to motor vehicle dealers. Motorcentral's primary business is the provision of dealer management system software

A public version of the clearance application will be available shortly on the Commission’s Clearances Register.

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.