ACCC raises questions about Asciano takeover

The ACCC has thrown a spanner in the works of Brookfield’s plans to takeover Asciano.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has said that it has serious concerns about the access regimes relating to the $8.9 billion takeover bid.

Brookfield operates a rail network in WA as well as a coal export port in Queensland, and of course Asciano’s big business is Pacific National.

That means that a Brookfield takeover of Asciano would vertically integrate the businesses, essentially putting control of the rail network, the port assets and one of their major users in the same hands.

The ACCC announcement has raised serious concerns for Asciano, which has been quite public about the takeover bid.

See the full article in the Sydney Morning Herald here.