Vodafone has won its case against the ACCC over its proposed merger with rival telecommunications company TPG, with a judge ruling the tie-up would not substantially lessen competition and had a real chance of becoming a “competitive force” against the two dominant players in the market, Telstra and Optus.
During another day of cross-examination in a criminal cartel case against ANZ and two investment banks, a key ACCC officer was accused of lying about his interrogation of a key cartel witness, with the officer insisting there was nothing “sinister” in his examination.
Australian Finance Group’s proposed acquistion of rival Connective Group has raised red flags for the competition regulator, which says the tie-up would create Australia’s largest mortgage aggregator and could squeeze smaller players out.
AMP will face a class action alleging its financial representatives pushed AMP inflated insurance policies onto 100,000 customers despite knowing that better policies could be found through other providers.
Volkswagen has appealed a record $125 million penalty handed down over its emissions cheating scandal by a judge who criticised a $75 million settlement agreement with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission as “manifestly inadequate”.
An ACCC investigator has come under fire from ANZ as the bank seeks to shoot holes in the criminal cartel action against it, with counsel for the bank accusing the regulator of “infecting” witness statements and erasing testimony that weakened its case.
A key officer from the ACCC involved in interviewing JPMorgan bankers during a cartel investigation that led to criminal charges against ANZ and two investment banks has denied allegations that he acted improperly during the investigation.
A lawyer for Tasmanian state government owned ports company TasPorts has criticised the ACCC’s first-of-its kind case that alleges it is misusing its market power to stymie competition, saying it isn’t clear what the regulator wants the court to do.
ANZ has won access to documents the bank claims are crucial to its defence in a high stakes criminal cartel case, but the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has flagged a possible appeal of the ruling.
Online real estate giant Domain has filed a lawsuit against an up-and-coming competitor in the property listings market, alleging the startup’s ads misleadingly claim it will have property listings before any of its rivals.