What does that mean for the two gentailers and their customers?
Mercury NZ Limited or Mercury Energy as Kiwi’s know it, announced in June that they’d entered into a binding agreement with Trustpower Limited to acquire Trustpower’s retail business for a chunky $441 million NZ. It only applies to the retail business and does not include Trustpower’s industrial or commercial customers or any of its generation assets.
Is this merge a big deal? YES!
The brands are two of five gentailers in NZ, meaning they both generate electricity and sell electricity. The merge makes for big conversation across the energy industry as two big dogs look to become one.
In consumer terms, if this agreement goes ahead and you’re a Trustpower customer, you’ll be absorbed into the Mercury Energy business and become a customer of theirs.
Trustpower’s retail business is made up of multiple products such as electricity, gas, fixed and wireless broadband and mobile phone services. Some may say the original bundlers in the industry who supply approximately 234,000 consumers nationwide.
If the merge goes through, Mercury will have up to 780,000 customers, which could just make it the largest power provider in New Zealand.
What are the conditions to make this merge go ahead?
There are several conditions to the agreement, including seeking clearance from The Commerce Commission, completion of a proposed restructure to the TECT or Tauranga Energy Consumer Trust and of course, approval from existing Trustpower shareholders.
As of the 4th of August, The Commerce Commission has issued a notice advising they have received an application as part of the conditions stated above. The ball is rolling but The Commission has made clear, they will only provide clearance if they are satisfied the merger will not have a negative impact by reducing competition within the market. Consumers come first to The Commission.
Whether or not you’re with Trustpower, now might be the time to compare what’s out there. Switch, save and stay warm this chilly season with Power Compare.
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