ACCC Announcement Regarding LifeHealthcare Acquisition

EBOS Group Limited. NZBN 9429031998840
Level 7, 737 Bourke Street, Docklands, Victoria 3008, Australia.
Phone: +61 3 9918 5555, Fax: +61 3 9918 5588.
www.ebosgroup.com



24 March 2022
NZX/ASX Code: EBO

ACCC ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING LIFEHEALTHCARE ACQUISITION

EBOS Group Limited (EBOS) notes the announcement by the Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission (ACCC) today that it will not oppose the proposed acquisition of LifeHealthcare
announced on 9 December 2021.
The transaction remains subject to satisfaction of certain conditions precedent and the parties
continue to work diligently towards completion of the transaction, which is expected in FY22.
A copy of the statement by the ACCC is attached.

For further information please contact:
Martin Krauskopf
General Manager, Mergers & Acquisitions and Investor Relations
+61 3 9918 5555

Authorised for lodgement with NZX and ASX by Janelle Cain, General Counsel, EBOS Group
Limited.

MEDIA RELEASE
24 March 2022
EBOS’ proposed acquisition of Pacific Health Group not opposed
The ACCC will not oppose the proposed acquisition of Australian Pacific Health Supplies
TopCo1 Pty Limited and its subsidiaries (Pacific Health Group) by EBOS Group Limited
(ASX: EBO), through its subsidiary EBOS Medical Devices Australia Pty Limited.
EBOS and Pacific Health Group distribute a range of medical devices to private and public
hospitals and to clinicians. Pacific Health Group also manufactures and distributes allografts
through its Australian Biotechnologies business. In general, the majority of the parties’
offerings are complementary and not in direct competition.
The ACCC focused on the overlap in certain medical devices often used in spinal and
orthopaedic surgery. These include cervical replacement discs and devices used as bone
alternatives to promote bone formation and healing, such as human tissue allografts and
synthetic biologics.
“We concluded that EBOS and Pacific Health Group would continue to face strong
competition from several other distributors and manufacturers of these medical devices,”
ACCC Commissioner Stephen Ridgeway said.
The ACCC consulted public and private hospital customers, industry bodies and competitor
distributors and manufacturers. Most market participants did not express concerns regarding
the proposed acquisition.
The ACCC also considered whether the proposed acquisition would enable EBOS to
foreclose competitors by increasing its ability and incentive to engage in anti-competitive
bundling or tying of medical products. However, the ACCC found that hospitals and
clinicians can generally switch to alternative suppliers, meaning an anti-competitive bundling
or tying strategy is unlikely to be successful.
“Market feedback also indicated that individual clinicians decide on the most appropriate
medical device for patient outcome and that the proposed acquisition would not change this,”
Mr Ridgeway said.
“We do not consider that the proposed acquisition will enable EBOS to foreclose rival
suppliers by leveraging, bundling or tying its products.”
More information can be found on the ACCC’s website at EBOS Group Limited – Pacific
Health Supplies TopCo1 Pty Limited
Notes to editors:
In considering the proposed acquisition, the ACCC applies the legal test set out in section 50
of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth). In general terms, section 50 prohibits
acquisitions that would have the effect, or be likely to have the effect, of substantially
lessening competition in any market.
‘Tying’ refers to when a business sells one good or service on the condition that the
purchaser buys another good or service from the supplier.

'Bundling' can refer to the tying of products but also includes offering multiple products at a
discount when sold as a package.
Background
EBOS is an ASX and NZX listed Australasian marketer, wholesaler and distributor of
medical products, including through LMT Surgical.
Pacific Health Group has a presence in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. It distributes
medical devices and consumables through LifeHealthcare and manufactures and distributes
allografts through its Australian Biotechnologies business.
‘Allografts’ are prostheses produced from donated human tissues that are used in surgery to
promote bone formation within the patient.
‘Synthetic biologics’ are a synthetic (non-human tissue) alternative to allografts.
‘Cervical discs’ are a prosthetic medical device to replace damaged spinal discs.

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Email: media@accc.gov.au
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