Issued 4 September 2013
Release No. 16
King Pharmacy Group granted clearance to acquire Community Pharmacy in Linwood
The Commerce Commission has cleared King Pharmacy Group Limited to acquire the pharmacy business of Community Pharmacy
Limited.
King Pharmacy owns and operates two pharmacies in the Christchurch suburb of Linwood: Linwood Dispensary and Eastgate
Pharmacy. Community Pharmacy is also situated in Linwood.
The Commission is satisfied that the proposed acquisition will not have, or would not be likely to have, the effect of
substantially lessening competition in any market.
“We have granted clearance in this instance because the state of competition is likely to be similar whether the
acquisition proceeds or not,” said Commission Chair, Dr Mark Berry.
A public version of the written reasons will be available soon on the Commission’s website at
www.comcom.govt.nz/clearances-register
Assessing an application for a merger or acquisition
When considering a proposed merger, the Commission must decide whether the competition that is lost in a market when two
businesses merge is substantial. We will give clearance to a proposed merger only if we are satisfied that the merger is
unlikely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.
A fact sheet explaining how the Commission assesses a merger application is available at:
http://www.comcom.govt.nz/mergers-and-acquisitions-merger-assessment-fact-sheet/
ends