Stagecoach to buy Mana

New Zealand Bus, the holding company which operates bus company Stagecoach, is no longer seeking Commerce Commission approval to gain full control of Mana Coach Services but intends to pursue the acquisition.

The Commerce Commission said last night New Zealand Bus had withdrawn its clearance application to buy the remaining 74 per cent of Mana Coach it does not already own.

But the commission said New Zealand Bus planned to go ahead with the purchase without a clearance.

The commission is investigating whether the proposed acquisition would be a breach of the Commerce Act.

Under section 47 of the Act an acquisition can't take place if it will have, or is likely to have, the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.

The commission said the clearance regime was voluntary.

When New Zealand Bus announced the deal in January it said it was conditional on gaining Commerce Commission approval.

Mana Coach Services is a family owned and managed business that operates Mana Coach Services and Newlands Buses.

Mana Coach Services operates commuter and passenger bus services within north Wellington, Porirua and the Kapiti coast, as well as a service to the Paraparaumu Tranz Metro rail line for Wellington city connections, and a coach charter business.

- NZPA