The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has pulled its injunction application to block a TabCorp-Tatts Group merger.
Commission officials said they will seek to block the deal through its regular appeal of Australian Competition Tribunal’s approval of the transaction.
Rod Sims, chairman of the ACCC, told the Australian newspaper that the injunction request had been withdrawn to allow the regulator to focus its attention on the appeal, which would be heard at the end of August.
“We are saving our resources to focus on the main game,” he said.
Sims said it is not expected that Tabcorp will push to complete the deal before the appeal is heard.
The ACCC has said that it is appealing the tribunal’s decision saying it believes the tribunal made reviewable errors in its decision.
Tabcorp has told its investors that the ACCC’s application to the Federal Court to review the approval would affect the timing of implementation, forcing it to shift the completion date to the last quarter of this year, according to the Australian.
