Australia's competition watchdog on Thursday rejected suggestions that it is taking a tougher line on merger and acquisition proposals following its intervention in a number of high-profile deals.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission recently blocked National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB.AU) and AXA S.A.'s (AXAHY) joint bid for AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd. (AXA.AU) and also disallowed deals in the gasoline station, supermarket and aviation sectors.

ACCC Chairman Graeme Samuel said the "myth" that it's being tougher has arisen from the "simplistic and piecemeal" comparison of the number of deals blocked compared with past years.

"You may recall that last year, some commentators were ... saying that the ACCC was letting through too many mergers," he told a conference.

Samuel also rejected suggestions that the ACCC is taking too long to make decisions, saying that timelines for merger reviews are best practice and considerably shorter than other jurisdictions, including the European Union, U.S. and U.K.

 
   -By Ross Kelly, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-2-8272-4692; Ross.Kelly@dowjones.com 
 
 
 
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