Your Local Experts in Merger Analysis

Brattle’s Sydney-based team assists clients in evaluating the competitive effects of mergers and acquisitions by providing rigorous economic advice, advanced data analytics, and cost analysis. We have hands-on experience of all steps of the merger review process, with the ability to use cutting-edge tools to analyse complex datasets.

We provide clear, timely, and practical advice to clients on the best approaches to assess the competitive effects of mergers, tailored to the particular characteristics of the industry involved and the available public and private information and data. We are highly familiar with the approaches of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and other competition authorities, and apply global best practices in merger assessment.

We draw on expertise in economics, data analytics, accounting, surveying and econometrics, and collaborate closely with world-class experts across our international offices. Please contact Luke.Wainscoat@brattle.com for more information.

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Analysis of ACCC’s Merger Statistics

Below is an analysis of mergers notified to the ACCC, including:

how many mergers are being notified;
how long merger reviews are taking;
the industries involved in the mergers being reviewed;
the industries involved when waivers are not approved;
the outcomes of the merger review process;
how the ACCC’s cost recovery compare with its forecasts; and
the factors that contribute to waivers being rejected.

This analysis includes data for:

notified acquisitions – which we term ‘mergers’;
applications for notification waivers – which we term ‘waivers’.

We welcome feedback and ideas for further analysis. All the data used in the analysis below is sourced from the ACCC’s acquisition registers, available here. We used the data available as at July 10 2026.

1. How many mergers are being notified?

The ACCC estimated that it would conduct 8.3 waiver reviews and 27.9 phase 1 merger reviews per month (see Consultation Paper). The chart below shows that the ACCC has undertaken more waiver reviews and fewer phase 1 merger reviews than it expected since the beginning of 2026.

Note: we do not include any mergers that have been notified but subsequently the ACCC has said the notification was not effective. The number of waivers notified in the most recent month may increase as they can be added to the register a few weeks after they are notified. Note that the number of merger notifications and waivers is not final

2. How long is the ACCC taking to assess mergers and waivers?

3. What industries are notifying mergers and waivers?

4. What industries are waivers most likely to be not approved?

5. What are the outcomes of the merger reviews?

6. How does the ACCC’s actual cost recovery compare with its forecasts?

Our estimates of the costs recovered by the ACCC from 1 January 2026 to 30 June 2026 are approximately $5 million less than the ACCC’s forecasts. This could lead to changes in the merger fees going forward.

Source and notes: ACCC, Cost Recovery Implementation Statement: Merger control regime for the charging period 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026 (2025). Available from: https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/merger-control-regime-cost-recovery-implementation-statement-2025-26.pdf. Note that the number of waivers is not final.