Sharechat Logo

NZ regulator seeks appeal right on Infratil bus bid

Friday 4th July 2008

Text too small?
The Commerce Commission is seeking to challenge a Court of Appeal ruling that Infratil wasn't liable for breaching the Commerce Act over the attempted acquisition of Mana Coach Services.

The High Court in June 2006 found Infratil's New Zealand Bus unit had breached the law in seeking to buy the 74% of Mana Coach it didn't already own. Still, the court refused to impose liability on the parent company for its part in the transaction.

"The commission is seeking to clarify the law as to accessory liability under the Commerce Act," chairwoman Paula Rebstock said in a statement. "This is a significant issue for all parties involved in commercial transactions."

The High Court imposed penalties and costs amounting to NZ$1.1 million against New Zealand Bus, after finding the acquisition would have substantially reduced competition in the Wellington region for rights to supply subsidised public and school buses.

Infratil and New Zealand Bus appealed to the Court of Appeal, which upheld the level of fines though also deemed Infratil not liable, the statement said.

New Zealand Bus is the holding company for Wellington City Transport, Cityline (NZ) and Transportation Auckland Corp, which operate Stagecoach Auckland, Stagecoach Wellington and Cityline Hutt Valley.

By Jonathan Underhill



  General Finance Advertising    

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:
Your name:
Your email:
Not displayed to the public
Comment:
Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved.

Related News:

Infratil sells Manston Airport for 350,000 British pounds to Stagecoach co-founder
Scottish government plans to nationalise Infratil's unprofitable Glasgow Prestwick Airport
Infratil stock undervalued after Z selldown, Wellington Airport worth more, broker says
Infratil plans $65 mln share buy-back to plump up price, flags more dividend growth
Infratil's plans for Z proceeds - debt reduction, buyback, Aussie windfarms
Z listing ups value of Infratil’s remaining stake but reduces earnings
Infratil, NZ Super Fund stand to triple their money on Z Energy investment
Infratil seeks fourth annual increase in fee pool for board
Wellington Airport keeps 2013 returns within regulator's guidelines, engages with carriers over fees
Infratil FY net profit drops to $3.4 mln on UK writedowns, charges