Competition & Antitrust

Specialists

Senior Associate

Through our intimate knowledge of our clients’ business, the markets they work in and the competition challenges they face, we help our clients to achieve their strategic goals. We work with some of New Zealand’s leading organisations in a range of sectors to ensure they can still achieve their business goals while meeting New Zealand’s competition, antitrust and general advertising/marketing laws. We have experience advising on competition law issues in many markets including telecommunications, technology, construction, retail, insurance, financial and transport.

Our team advise on the full range of competition and antitrust matters, providing guidance on cartel issues, mergers and acquisitions, through to representation in Commerce Commission clearances, investigations and enforcement matters.

We provide a seamless approach working alongside our litigation and commercial and corporate teams to advise clients on cartel issues, mergers and acquisitions (including applications for Commerce Commission clearance and authorisation), misuse of market power, access issues, investigations, enforcements, and oppositions to mergers. We regularly work with other legal teams, and business advisers both domestically and internationally as part of global M&A deals and cartel investigations.

We also work in specific areas of competition law, such as under the Telecommunications Act, airport and electricity sector specific provisions under the Commerce Act, and special competition rules in the allocation of radio-spectrum.

Our recent experience includes advising:

  • Ixom in an application for clearance to acquire a chemicals plant from Oji Fibre.
  • Kordia in a high Court case about levies under the Telecommunications Act.
  • A local government business unit on competition law issues in selling part of its operations.
  • A significant business in acquiring a competitor’s fuel supply business.
  • DHBs on compliance with the Commerce Act.
  • A private sector client on a claim under the Commerce Act for breach of section 47 of the Commerce Act in the acquisition of a business.
  • A client on a claim by Commerce Commission for breach of cartel provisions of the Commerce Act.

Related insights