IAG New Zealand Limited seeks clearance to acquire AMI Insurance
Published20 Dec 2011
The Commerce Commission has received an application from IAG New Zealand Limited (IAG) seeking clearance to acquire certain business assets of AMI Insurance.
The Commerce Commission has received an application from IAG New Zealand Limited (IAG) seeking clearance to acquire certain business assets of AMI Insurance.
The acquisition involves the transfer by AMI of its business (excluding its Canterbury earthquake liabilities) to a newly created company - AMI Newco. IAG will acquire 100% of the shares in this new company. AMI's Canterbury earthquake liabilities will be taken over by the Government.
Both IAG and AMI supply general insurance products including home, contents, and car insurance. IAG is part of the Insurance Australia Group of companies and is active in both New Zealand and Australia. In New Zealand, IAG offers insurance services under two brands - State Insurance and NZI. AMI has a national branch network across New Zealand and has around 500,000 customers.
In considering the application, the Commission's role is to determine whether the acquisition would harm competition in the market, to the extent that there would be a substantial lessening of competition.
Assessing an application for a merger or acquisition
When considering a proposed merger, the Commission must decide whether the competition that is lost in a market when two businesses merge is 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.
