Farm services business, Ruralco, has won the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) approval to buy Tasmanian rural merchandise outfit, TP Jones.
The Launceston-based TP Jones company is a Combined Rural Traders (CRT) member with three other retail outlets at Longford, Campbell Town, and Latrobe.
It will be absorbed into the Ruralco’s significant Roberts livestock agency and merchandising network.
The ACCC was required to scrutinise the deal, announced in November, because both Tasmanian businesses sell products such as fertiliser, agricultural chemicals, animal health products, and farm merchandise.
Roberts, a wholly-owned Ruralco subsidiary with 14 outlets in Tasmania, has operations spanning merchandise retailing, wool and livestock marketing, real estate, irrigation and financial services.
ACCC Commissioner, Roger Featherston, said while Roberts and TP Jones directly competed in all of the affected local areas, farmers in those areas had other market alternatives.
The ACCC had spoken to farmers, wholesale buying groups, and manufacturers of rural merchandise.
“In Campbell Town where Roberts and TP Jones are the only two with retail outlets, the ACCC concluded farmers would likely be able to buy rural merchandise from other retailers located near Launceston,” Mr Featherston said.
“Farmers could also arrange to have merchandise delivered to their farms.”
Other rural merchandise retailers operating in the relevant local areas included listed agribusiness Elders, northern Tasmanian farm services firm Serve-Ag, and various independent rural merchandisers associated with wholesale buying groups.
The listed Ruralco business owns, or partly owns 500 retail outlets across Australia covering about 40 different business areas.
Despite reporting a bullish first quarter performance on the back of good spring seasonal conditions in many regions Ruralco’s share price has dipped below $3 since announcing the TP Jones deal last November to currently trade under $2.95 a share .
Andrew Marshall
Andrew Marshall is the group agribusiness writer for ACM's state agricultural weeklies and websites. He is a former editor at The Land and has worked in various Rural Press group roles in Canberra, North Richmond (NSW) and Toowoomba (Qld).
Andrew Marshall is the group agribusiness writer for ACM's state agricultural weeklies and websites. He is a former editor at The Land and has worked in various Rural Press group roles in Canberra, North Richmond (NSW) and Toowoomba (Qld).
