Tribunal joins IAG and RACWA challenges to blocked A$1.35bn RAC Insurance deal and sets 2027 hearing

The Australian Competition Tribunal issued directions on 9 October that let RACWA Holdings, the seller's parent, pursue its own review of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) decision to block Insurance Australia Group's (IAG) purchase of RAC Insurance, Insurance Business reported. The Tribunal ordered that the IAG and RACWA applications be managed and heard together, and listed a 12-day hearing between late March and mid-April 2027.

The ACCC ruled on 23 September that the A$1.35bn deal must not go ahead because it would likely substantially lessen competition in Western Australia's insurance market. IAG applied for review on 1 October and RACWA on 5 October. The price has two parts: A$400m for RAC Insurance's shares and A$950m paid upfront for a 20-year exclusive distribution and brand licensing agreement.

At a hearing on 8 October, IAG said it intends to file a public benefit application with the ACCC, and RACWA said it may do the same; the Tribunal set 14 October as the deadline. Once such an application is filed, the Tribunal review stops until the ACCC decides, which the applicants expect in early February 2027. If the ACCC accepts that public benefits outweigh the loss of competition, the applicants said they would withdraw the review.

The Tribunal called the applicants' proposed timetable "not realistic", required at least 35 business days of preparation after the review restarts and extended the statutory review period by 60 days. It ruled that only one filing fee is payable; the fee is 0.12% of the deal value, capped at A$2.95m. It published reasons to set out its approach to related applications under Australia's mandatory merger notification regime, which replaced the voluntary system on 1 January 2026.