Australia’s competition watchdog has given Tourism Holdings the tick of approval over its proposed merger with Apollo Tourism & Leisure, getting the tourism operators another step closer to the deal’s finishing line.
However, just like the Commerce Commission's green light last week, the clearance from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is subject to Apollo divesting $45 million of its assets to the budget campervan company, Jucy Rentals.
The deal includes 110 four- to six-berth motorhomes from Apollo's rental fleet in NZ and 200 four-to-six-berth motorhomes in Australia.
Alongside the more than 300 motorhomes, ATL’s Star RV motorhome brand and the property leases for surplus ATL rental depots in Auckland, Perth, Alice Springs, Darwin and Hobart are also included in the deal.
THL told the NZX this afternoon the ACCC had confirmed the sale of the Australian assets to Jucy was an “acceptable remedy” that addressed its competition concerns, after having reviewed the transaction documents.
THL chair Cathy Quinn said the company was pleased to have obtained clearance from the ACCC. While there remained other conditions to the proposed merger to be “satisfied”, clearance from the New Zealand and Australian competition regulators were considered the “most significant”.
“We now have much greater confidence that the merger will proceed,” she said.
The merger remains subject to the satisfaction of conditions including refinancing, approval from the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board and requisite approval from ATL shareholders and the supreme court of Queensland.
Tourism Holdings shares were taken out of a trading halt after the announcement and were up 2.2% to $2.78 in mid-afternoon trading.
