On 6 August the Commerce Commission published its Statement of Preliminary Issues (SOPI) for Z Energy Limited’s application to acquire Chevron New Zealand. SOPIs are published for the vast majority of clearance applications and are intended to “outline the key competition issues [that the Commission] currently consider[s] to be important in deciding whether or not …
The ACCC has today announced that it has been unsuccessful in two high profile appeals relating to Flight Centre & ANZ – both of which deal with issues of “agency” in the competition/antitrust context. The end result of these two appeals goes some way to reconciling what were two seemingly conflicting judgments. Read more about …
Nicko Waymouth, Senior Associate at Matthews Law, has been nominated by in-house counsel and his peers to appear in the inaugural edition of the Legal Media Group (LMG) Rising Stars 2015 guide – an international publication that identifies the brightest young talent in 28 practice areas of law. LMG also publishes other well-known international legal …
In our most recent newsletter, we discuss the ACCC’s announcement this week that it has commenced civil proceedings against eleven parties for alleged bid rigging conduct involving mining exploration licences in NSW. In the wake of this week’s allegations of corruption at FIFA, we also pose the question of whether sporting body monopolies lead to …
Andy Matthews & Gus Stewart recently contributed an article in the April 2015 edition of Antitrust News, the newsletter of the International Bar Association Legal Practice Division. The article covers: – New Zealand’s new ‘unfair contract terms’ regime comes into force – NZCC’s investigation into Air NZ’s ‘opt-out’ insurance results in a win for consumers …
On Thursday 30 April the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced that it will take no further action in respect of comments made by Andrew Forrest, Chairman of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, about iron ore production. The ACCC commenced a review of Mr Forrest’s comments following an article in the Australian Financial Review on …
The Commerce Commission (NZCC) has today declined an application from Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB), owners of the “Durex” brand, to purchase Johnson & Johnson’s “K-Y” brand and product assets. The acquisition had been approved by regulators in Australia, USA, Brazil, and Colombia, and a decision is scheduled to be made by the UK’s Competition and …
Andy Matthews has again been selected by his peers for inclusion in this year’s edition of The Best Lawyers in New Zealand®, in the practice area of Competition & Consumer Law. Andy was also named the Best Lawyers® 2016 Competition & Consumer Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Auckland. Only a single lawyer in each …
The New Zealand Commerce Commission can now seek a declaration from the courts that particular terms in standard form consumer contracts are unfair. If a business continues to use a term that the courts have declared unfair it may be convicted and fined up to $600,000 per offence under the Fair Trading Act, and ordered …
Andy Matthews and Nicko Waymouth, Principal and Senior Associate at Matthews Law, have again been recognised as leading individuals (Competition/Antitrust – New Zealand) in Chambers Asia-Pacific’s 2015 Guide. Andy maintains his “Band 1” ranking, which he has held since 2006. Nicko is among a select few ranked in “Associates to Watch”, a ranking he has …