Statement Of Preliminary Issues Released For Proposed Heyden/Henergy/Rasmusens Merger

The Commerce Commission has published a Statement of Preliminary Issues relating to an application from Heyden Farms Limited, Henergy Cage-Free Limited and Rasmusens Poultry Farms Limited, seeking clearance to merge their respective egg production and wholesale supply operations.

The statement outlines the key competition issues that the Commission considers important in deciding whether to grant clearance to the proposed acquisition.

The Commission invites interested parties to provide comment on the likely competitive effects of the proposed acquisition. Submissions can be sent by email to registrar@comcom.govt.nz with the reference ‘Heyden/Henergy/Rasmusens’ in the subject line. Any submissions should be received by close of business on 31 August 2020.

The Commission is currently scheduled to make a decision on the application by 18 September 2020. However, this date may be extended as the investigation progresses.

The Statement of Preliminary Issues and a public version of the application can be found on the Commission’s case register.

Background
All three parties are producers and suppliers of eggs. Heyden Farms supplies cage eggs, barn laid eggs, and free range eggs from its production facilities in the Waikato and the Bay of Plenty. Henergy Cage-Free supplies barn laid eggs from its production facilities near Masterton. Rasmusens Poultry Farms supplies cage eggs and free range eggs from its production facilities near Whanganui.

We will give clearance to a proposed merger if we are satisfied that the merger is unlikely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.

Further information explaining how the Commission assesses a merger application is available on our website.

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