The deal can go ahead after the two parties revised the terms to address the Commission’s concerns.
Implantable hearing solutions giant Cochlear will be able to go ahead with its plan to acquire Danish implant supplier Oticon Medical after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced it would not oppose the deal.
In 2022, Cochlear notified the ACCC it proposed to acquire Oticon Medical’s bone conduction solutions business and cochlear implants business. The ACCC had significant competition concerns in relation to the deal.
“The transaction has now been changed to remove the bone conduction solutions business, which addresses the significant concerns the ACCC had in relation to bone conduction solutions,” ACCC Commissioner Stephen Ridgeway said in a statement today.
Oticon Medical has small market share and does not provide strong competition in the supply of cochlear implants in Australia, including with respect to research and development.
The ACCC also considers it unlikely that Oticon Medical would have become a stronger competitor in the supply of cochlear implants in the foreseeable future, the announcement read.
“We concluded that Cochlear’s proposed acquisition of Oticon’s cochlear implants business was unlikely to substantially lessen competition in Australia,” Mr Ridgeway said.
“We were concerned that the original proposed acquisition would lead to higher prices, lower quality or service levels and less innovation in the supply of surgical and non-surgical bone conduction solutions.”
The parties revised the transaction in the wake of the ACCC’s concerns.
“The ACCC is satisfied that its competition concerns with respect to bone conduction solutions are addressed,” Mr Ridgeway said.
