Issued 15 November 2001/112
Telstra Saturn Applies To The Commerce Commission To Acquire Clear Communications
The Commerce Commission has received an application from TelstraSaturn Limited for clearance under the Commerce Act to
acquire all of the assets of Clear Communications Limited.
TelstraSaturn was incorporated in New Zealand on 19 July 1989. Shareholders in TelstraSaturn include Austar United
Communications Limited, Telstra Holdings Pty Limited and Saturn (NZ) Holding Company Pty Limited. Clear is a wholly
owned member of the British Telecommunications plc group of companies. The sole shareholder of Clear is Newgate (NZ)
Holdings Limited which is a wholly owned subsidiary of BT (Netherlands) Holdings B.V.
TelstraSaturn currently provides the New Zealand market with cable TV, Internet and data services, business Internet
services, and owns a web design company called Zivo. Clear offers a range of voice data, Internet and e-commerce
services as well as its Internet Service Provider (ISP) - Zfree.
In considering the application, the Commission's role is to determine whether the merged company has the effect of
substantially lessening competition in the market.
A public version of TelstraSaturn's application is available on request from the Commerce Commission.
Ends