THE PROPOSED acquisition of Silk Contract Logistics by DP World Australia, announced on 11 November, will be subject to a public review by the ACCC.

The Commission has invited responses from interested parties to its concerns, which include:

  • The extent to which a combined DPWA/Silk would have the ability and incentive to favour its own port logistics services and/or limit rival suppliers’ (such as landside transport operators or port logistics services providers) ability to provide a competitive offering at any of the relevant ports.
  • Whether the proposed acquisition would result in a loss of competition at any level of the container supply chain.
  • DPWA’s ability to give preferential treatment to its associated landside transport services (i.e. favourable Vehicle Booking System slot allocations or the non-payment or discounted payment of Terminal Access Fees or VBS-related and ancillary terminal charges).
  • Ensuring that Silk is treated as a third party in obtaining access to a DPWA container terminal on the same terms as DP World Australia’s associated landside transport business (e.g. DPWA’s National Carrier Access Terms and Conditions).

The letter also seeks comments on the extent to which the alignment between DPWA (which operates container terminals and empty container parks) and Silk’s port logistics business would result in DPWA having a greater ability and incentive to bundle container stevedoring services with logistic services and the competition impact this may have.

Interestingly, the ACCC also seeks comment on whether the proposed deal would allow DPWA to compete more effectively with Patrick Container Terminals: “a rival container stevedore that is vertically integrated with Qube (which owns 50% of Patrick Container Terminals). In your response, please discuss the potential impact this would have on the container supply chain, including the likelihood of decreased prices or increased service quality in the supply of any services in the container supply chain.

Submissions close 23 December. The provisional date for the announcement of the ACCC’s findings – as outlined in the Informal Merger Review Process Guidelines, this may be a final decision or release of a Statement of Issues – is 13 March 2025.