Scott Murdock and Renju Jose
SYDNEY (Reuters) – ANZ Group’s A$4.9 billion ($3.2 billion) buyout of Suncorp’s banking business was cleared by the Australian Competition Tribunal on Tuesday, meaning the bank can go ahead with its takeover of its significant rival.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in August blocked the deal, which it said would lead to increased competition in Australia’s banking sector.
But Australian Competition Tribunal deputy chairman Judge John Halley told the Federal Court in Sydney on Tuesday there was enough “net public benefit” for the deal to go ahead.
“This is an important milestone and an important step forward in the process, but we still have additional conditions to meet,” ANZ CEO Shane Elliott said in a statement. “We remain committed to completing the acquisition as quickly as possible once all conditions to the sale have been satisfied.”
The takeover still requires approval from Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers. It also requires formal approval from the Queensland government, where Suncorp is based.
ANZ, Australia’s fourth-largest lender by market capitalization, appealed the ACCC’s August decision along with Suncorp.
The ACCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The ACCC said last year that allowing the deal would “further strengthen the oligopoly market structure” in which four lenders, including ANZ, hold three-quarters of the country’s A$2 trillion in mortgages.
When it first announced the deal with Suncorp in 2022, ANZ said the purchase of banking assets would increase its mortgage portfolio by A$47 billion to A$307 billion.
Suncorp, one of Australia’s largest insurers, sought to streamline its business by focusing on insurance and reducing the capital requirements for bank ownership.