Allens launches new tool to help clients navigate Australia's merger clearance regime

Australia’s merger clearance regime has undergone significant change, giving dealmakers a new set of requirements to understand when planning transactions.

The Australian Merger Clearance Navigator, a new tool developed by Allens, brings together data from the ACCC’s acquisitions register in a searchable dashboard, allowing users to examine merger review timeframes, approval rates and emerging trends.

Rather than relying on legal analysis alone, the tool brings together Allens' competition expertise with data and technology to help clients understand how the new regime is operating in practice.

As partner Jacqueline Downes explains:

‘The ACCC's new merger clearance regime represents the most significant change to Australia's competition law framework in decades. While the regime is still developing, businesses, investors and their advisers are looking for greater certainty around review timelines, approval rates and how the process is working in practice.’

The Navigator was developed in response to those questions. As the number of transactions reviewed by the ACCC grows, the tool is designed to help identify trends in areas such as timing and outcomes, while giving users access to the Allens team to help interpret what the data means for individual transactions.

Partner Felicity McMahon says that combination is an important part of the approach:

‘Importantly, it is more than just a data tool. Along with AI-enabled data analysis, our team is available within the Navigator to help clients interpret the data, understand what is happening beneath the surface and apply those insights to their specific circumstances.’

The Australian Merger Clearance Navigator is available free to clients and referral firms and forms part of Allens’ broader work to combine legal expertise with technology and data to solve practical client problems.

Learn more about the Australian Merger Clearance Navigator here.