Reward Seeks Clearance To Acquire Southern Hospitality

The Commerce Commission has received a clearance application from Reward Supply Co Pty Limited (Reward) to acquire 100% of the shares in Southern Hospitality Limited (Southern Hospitality).

Reward is an Australian company that supplies food service solutions in Australia and is a member of the ECF Group, an international distribution company specialising in the supply of food service solutions. The ECF Group operates in New Zealand through Burns & Ferrall Limited, trading as Reward NZ (Reward NZ), and Safco Limited.

Southern Hospitality is a New Zealand supplier to the New Zealand hospitality and food service industry. Established in 1989, it has 12 showrooms nationwide and describes itself as a “a major player in the catering and hospitality industry providing a multitude of services and products.”

With the acquisition, both Reward NZ and Southern Hospitality would be part of the ECF Group.

Reward NZ and Southern Hospitality compete to sell tabletop, kitchenware, and other products to food service industry customers such as restaurants, hospitals and aged care facilities. They also both sell equipment such as fridges, ovens and dishwashers, that are used by customers building or redeveloping commercial kitchens.

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

Background
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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