Regulator accepts undertaking by Apollo to divest a large proportion of its fleet.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has this morning confirmed it will not oppose the proposed acquisition of Apollo Tourism & Leisure by its NZ-based rival Tourism Holdings Limited.
The announcement follows months of work to address competition concerns raised by the acquisition, with the Commission saying “the removal of THL’s largest and closest competitor raised concerns that consumers would pay more to rent RVs or receive lower quality products and service”.
“THL and Apollo are the two largest suppliers of rental RVs in Australia and are each other’s closest competitor in a market where smaller rivals and potential entrants appear to face challenges achieving comparable scale,” ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh said.
THL and Apollo have offered a court-enforceable undertaking to divest 200 (about 80%) of the four to six berth motorhomes in Apollo’s Australian rental fleet and associated forward bookings to an ACCC approved purchaser.
The deal also includes the divestment of leases for Apollo rental branches and depots in Alice Springs, Darwin, Hobart and Perth, as well as the Apollo Star RV motorhome brand, all of which are being sold to Jucy Rentals, itself recently acquired by Next Capital
More news in today’s issue of Travel Daily.