NEW ZEALAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Sarah Keene, Jordan Cox, Antonia Horrocks and Victoria Fowler, Webb Henderson
• judicially review steps in an NZCC clearance pro - cess; • appeal a merger authorisation process; and • challenge a merger that has not been notified to the NZCC for clearance directly under the Com - merce Act in the High Court. The Commerce Act only gives a statutory right of appeal to the applicant for clearance and any person whose assets or shares are proposed to be acquired pursuant to the clearance. Other parties can only seek relief by way of judicial review. In Spark New Zealand Ltd v Commerce Commission (2017), Spark, a competitor, did not have a right of appeal in relation to the proposed merger between Sky TV and Vodafone. It commenced judicial review proceedings, seeking interim relief to prevent com - pletion of the transaction. The High Court granted interim relief, restraining Sky TV and Vodafone from completing the merger for a short period following the NZCC’s decision. Ultimately, the NZCC declined to grant clearance, and Spark did not pursue the judicial review further.
In relation to merger authorisations, the appeal right is broader. Any person with a direct and significant inter - est in the application who participated in the NZCC’s process leading up to the determination may appeal. Third parties can also directly challenge mergers which have not been cleared by the NZCC in the High Court. 9. Foreign Direct Investment/Subsidies Review 9.1 Legislation and Filing Requirements The foreign direct investment screening regime in New Zealand is governed by the OIA. The OIO is the regulator responsible for the administration of the OIA. Please see 1.2 Legislation Relating to Particular Sec- tors to understand more about foreign direct invest - ment into New Zealand.
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