Re: Rail Sale Games

[mauried@tpg.com.au (Maurie Daly)]

On Thu, 31 May 2001 13:08:17 +1000, "Tezza"
<tezza2000@dingoblue.net.au> wrote:

>"Adam Dunning" <adamdunning@start.com.au> wrote in message
>3b14da38$1@news.alphalink.com.au">news:3b14da38$1@news.alphalink.com.au...
>| Another article from Truck & Bus Tranportation (not Marinus this time
>| though!)
>|
>| pg 9, Jully 2001 issue (current)
>|
>| 'Rail sale games'
>| A split has developed between NSW and the federal government on the sale
>of
>| FreightCorp and the National Rail Corporation (NR).
>|
>| After agreeing last year to a parallel sale of the two companies, the
>| Federal Government in now being asked to sell the railways jointly -
>| virtually as a asingle entity.
>
>As recommended by the Union forced inquirey.

Can anyone with some knowledge of corporate law comment on the
legality of this, ie selling two totally separate corporations as the
one entity.
It also seems to be a mechanism to defeat a ACCC investigation as to
whether a single owner of both Rail Operators would be anti
competetive .

Under the scenerio of separate sales , its extremely unlikely that the
ACCC would allow the buyer of NRC to also buy Freightcorp and vice
versa , but if they are both sold as a single sale then there is
nothing to investigate.

Also what happens to the existing staff , and their working conditions
if a single sale occurrs ?
Are NRC crews and Freightcorp crews pay and conditions the same ?

MD

>
>
>| That move is being strongly resisted by the federal transport department
>and
>| its minister, John Anderson, on the grounds that selling NR seperately
>will
>| maximise its sale price.
>|
>| "Because FreightCorp loses so much money, if we sold them together it
>would
>| mean that NR would be subsidising FreightCorp," a spokesman for Anderson
>| said.
>|
>| The Federal government also believed that selling both railways to a
>single
>| buyer would raise questions about whether the resulting company's size
>| provided it with an unfair competitive advantage.
>
>Negated by the subsidisation?
>
>
>
>
>