The Commerce Commission has granted clearance for Henkel New Zealand Limited to acquire the Earthwise brand and business from Earthwise Group Limited, comprising the intellectual property in the Earthwise name, logo, bottle and formulas, the Earthwise goodwill and relevant Earthwise business records.
In reaching its decision, the Commission considered the potential impact of the proposed acquisition on competition in the national markets for the wholesale supply of laundry detergents, laundry pre-wash aids and toilet cleaners.
Commissioner Sue Begg said the Commission was satisfied that the acquisition is unlikely to substantially lessen competition in any New Zealand market.
“Our investigation found that Henkel and Earthwise are not close competitors and will continue to be constrained by several other prominent competitors in the national markets for the wholesale supply of laundry detergents, laundry pre-wash aids and toilet cleaners. We found that Henkel and Earthwise focus on different consumer preferences. Henkel is focused on products for price/quality conscious consumers, whereas Earthwise is focused on products for ‘eco-conscious’ consumers,” said Commissioner Sue Begg.
“There are other competitors in each relevant market, who could expand the volume of products they currently manufacture. We consider that these factors will mean the merged entity is unlikely to be able to increase prices or reduce quality in ways that substantially lessen competition in any relevant market.”
A public version of the written reasons for the decision will be available on the Commission’s in due course.
Background
We will give clearance to a proposed merger if we are satisfied that the merger is unlikely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.
