The Commerce Commission has received a clearance application from The Priory in New Zealand of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem (St John) to acquire certain assets from Electra Limited, which trades as Securely. Specifically, St John seeks to acquire assets relating to Securely’s medical alarm and monitoring for use in private homes, retirement homes and retirement villages, duress alarms for lone workers and personal alarms used in conjunction with New Zealand Police monitoring. However, the proposed acquisition excludes Securely’s property security alarms used for government, commercial and residential purposes.
St John is a charitable trust which provides a range of health and social care services, including ambulance services, first aid training, medical services at events, medical alarms and youth and community programmes. These services are partly funded by its supply of medical alarm and monitoring services.
Securely is a wholly owned subsidiary of the electricity network company Electra Limited. Like St John, Securely is an MSD-accredited medical alarm supplier to private end users and commercial customers. Securely also provides home and business security services, but those activities do not form part of the proposed acquisition.
Both parties supply medical alarms and monitoring services to private end users and commercial customers. These devices can be installed in a customers’ residence and/or worn personally as a pendant. When activated, these devices connect the user to a monitoring station and the appropriate care can then be arranged. A significant proportion of private medical alarm use is funded by the Ministry of Social Development l Te Manatū Whakahiato Ora (MSD).
A public version of the clearance application will be available shortly on the Commission’s case register.
Background
We will give clearance to a proposed merger if we are satisfied that the merger is unlikely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.
