Statement Of Issues Released For Contact’s Proposed Acquisition Of Manawa

The Commerce Commission has published a Statement of Issues relating to the application from Contact Energy Limited seeking clearance to acquire up to 100% of the shares in Manawa Energy Limited.

The Statement of Issues outlines what the Commission considers to be the potential competition issues with the acquisition following its initial investigation. The Statement of Issues is not a final decision and does not mean that the Commission intends to decline or clear the merger.

The Commission is seeking submissions from Contact, Manawa and other interested parties on the issues raised in the Statement of Issues.

The Statement of Issues can be found on the case register.

Submissions can be sent by email to registrar@comcom.govt.nz with the reference ‘Contact/Manawa’ in the subject line.

Submissions are due by close of business on 21 February 2025, with cross-submissions due by close of business on 28 February 2025.

The Commission is currently scheduled to make a decision on the application by 31 March 2025. However, this date may change if by the relevant date we are not yet satisfied that the proposed acquisition will not have, or would not be likely to have, the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market in New Zealand.

Background

We will only 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: https://comcom.govt.nz/business/merging-or-acquiring-a-company

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