Companies

Retail and professional services head list of proposed mergers reviewed by watchdog in 2023

Almost 70 proposed mergers were notified to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission last year

While a small number of mergers required full Phase Two investigation by the CCPC, the vast majority did not raise competition concerns. Picture: Getty

Mergers in the professional services and retail sectors accounted for almost a quarter of all notifications to the state’s consumer protection watchdog last year.

In its latest annual report, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) was notified of 68 notifications of new proposed mergers from companies last year, with decisions made on 66 mergers in 2023.

Over a fifth (14) of those required the CCPC to initiate further inquiries into the proposed mergers to ...