The owner of Kmart and Bunnings is set to snag Catch Group after the $230 million acquisition was given the go-ahead by authorities.
The ACCC on Tuesday announced that it would be allowing Wesfarmers, who also own Target, to acquire the e-commerce retailer.
The deal was first announced in June when the conglomerate said they would be purchasing the online asset in a bid to grow their online presence.
At the same time, the ACCC commenced a review of the proposed acquisition to canvass its impact on the market.
But the consumer watchdog on Tuesday said they would be allowing the deal to go ahead after reviewing physical and online competition and any impact on other sellers.
“We reviewed whether Wesfarmers’ retail position could be leveraged into online sales and marketplaces in an anti-competitive way,” ACCC Commissioner Stephen Ridgeway said.
“The current growth in online marketplaces is fostering competition between providers, and feedback indicated that Wesfarmers’ proposed acquisition of Catch would be unlikely to change that level of competition.”
“Stakeholders also consistently told us that Catch and Wesfarmers are not close competitors, primarily due to the differences in their business models,” Mr Ridgeway said.