Qantas blocks its alliance plans due to ACCC concerns

"Alliance is a close, important and growing Qantas competitor," said Sims.

"It offers consumers and businesses a crucial alternative to Qantas in already highly concentrated markets."

"In our opinion, any decision by a company to acquire and capitalize on a significant shareholding in a nearby competitor is likely to raise competition concerns, because of the potential for competition between the two companies, as a result of the competition. mutual influence on their strategies or results. "

Participation has the potential to limit Alliance's future growth and become a serious contender, the president said.

"This could have an impact on Alliance's ability to grow by raising funds from investors or considering competing takeover approaches. perceive it as an independent competitor of Qantas. "

Reply from Qantas

In his response to the ACCC, Qantas stated that he "did not intend to reduce his stake in Alliance".

The national carrier, however, has agreed not to expand its interest in Alliance while the ACCC is continuing its investigation.

"We do not think there is evidence of a reduction in competition because of our minority stake, nor a reasonable prospect that there will be one," he said. declared the company.

Qantas said in February that its ultimate goal was to obtain a majority position in Alliance and reiterated this goal in its statement on Thursday. He acknowledged "the regulatory challenges this poses".