By James Atkinson
BREAKING NEWS: Lion to distribute Corona in Australia
The ACCC has raised specific competition concerns about five of the hotels that are the subject of a major buy-out proposed by the Woolworths-owned ALH Group.
The competition regulator this week released a statement of issues about ALH's proposed acquisition – reported on TheShout late last year – of 31 NSW hotels from the Laundy, Waugh and De Angelis Groups.
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The ACCC identified concerns in four local markets where the number of packaged liquor competitors would be significantly reduced by the acquisition, which includes 13 hotels with attached or detached bottleshops and one stand-alone bottleshop
The relevant hotels are the Chittaway Tavern and the Umina Beach Hotel on the NSW central coast, the Albion Park Hotel in the Shellharbour area, south of Wollongong, and the Charles Hotel in the Fairy Meadow area north of Wollongong.
The regulator is also concerned about the competitive impact for on-premise liquor consumption and gaming in Liverpool, south west of Sydney, where ALH plans to purchase the Green Valley Hotel.
"Market inquiries indicate that the ALH-owned Pritchards Hotel is the only competing hotel to the Green Valley Hotel offering the sale of liquor for on-site consumption, entertainment and gaming within 3km," the ACCC said.
"As such there would be no hotel competitors to ALH/Woolworths within 3km of the target post acquisition."
The ACCC has invited market participants to comment on the proposed acquisitions by no later than March 22.
I am a bottle shop owner in the area of Umina and I feel I could be forced out with their monopoly.
If ALH hold less than 2% of the market how is it a monopoly ?