ACCC ‘clarifies’ position over ANZ acquisition of MYOB

Last week, the bank released a statement noting that both companies were yet to reach a statement and “there is no certainty it will proceed”. 

“Should the transaction proceed it would be subject to regulatory approvals, including from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the New Zealand Overseas Investments Office,” ANZ said in its statement. 

Shortly after this announcement, additional media reports on Thursday (14 July) claimed that the ACCC was concerned about this potential acquisition, namely in how ANZ’s access to MYOB’s data use could impact competition in lending, including small business loans.

However, on Friday (15 July), the ACCC announced that no such view had been announced.

“The ACCC is aware of a report that the ACCC has raised preliminary concerns regarding ANZ’s possible acquisition of MYOB, and that the ACCC will conduct a public review,” the competition watchdog said. 

“The ACCC has not expressed any view on this possible transaction.”

The consumer watchdog noted that it would make a decision when, and if, the time came. 

“If the transaction proceeds, the ACCC will make a decision on whether a public review will be conducted once it has received a submission from the parties,” it added. 

“Details of any public review would be posted on our public register.”

ANZ already offers SME loans that tap into accounting software platforms (ASPs) such as MYOB, Xero, and QuickBooks in order to more quickly populate loan applications with historical financial information.

In April 2021, MYOB confirmed it had entered a strategic investment and multi-year partnership with the cash flow financier Butn.

Under the partnership, MYOB’s Australian small-business customers can access upfront payments of outstanding invoices through Butn’s products.

Later that year, in June, MYOB confirmed it had partnered with Valiant to launch predictive finance offerings to SMEs based on their data. 

In September 2021, MYOB’s chief employee experience officer was confirmed to have joined Butn’s executive board as the finance platform’s appointee. 

Neither MYOB nor KKR had issued a statement about the proposed acquisition at the time of writing.

[Related: ANZ makes bid for MYOB to bolster SME offering]