Wesfarmers’ deal to acquire online retailer Catch Group for $230m gets ACCC approval

The ACCC will wave through Wesfarmers’ $230m deal to snap up online retailer Catch.

Catch was co-founded by Gabby and Hezi Leibovich more than 10 years ago and employs around 800 staff. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

The competition regulator will not oppose Wesfarmers’ $230 million deal to acquire online retailer Catch, waving through the acquisition to bring chief executive Rob Scott a step closer to his refashioning of the Perth-based conglomerate and its portfolio of businesses.

Wesfarmers (WES) announced this morning it had received word from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that it will not oppose the proposed acquisition of Catch Group. The transaction is now expected to be finalised in August.

In June, Mr Scott surprised the market when he announced Wesfarmers would buy Catch Group for $230m, adding to his growing shopping list that at time included a $1.5 billion tilt at rare earths miner Lynas and a $776m takeover bid for lithium company Kidman Resources.

Former investors in Catch have included casino billionaire James Packer and the co-founder of online employment service Seek, Andrew Bassat.

The move on Catch Group, one of the first online retailers to launch in Australia as internet shopping took off in 2006, also derails any plans that its founders and owners had to take the business to the sharemarket in an IPO and underlines Wesfarmers recent interest in technology and digital businesses.

Catch Group was co-founded by Gabby Leibovich and Hezi Leibovich more than 10 years ago and employs around 800 staff.

Latest financial results show Catch lost $4.3m in fiscal 2018, down from a loss of just over $17m in 2017. In 2018 revenue rose more than 40 per cent to $262m.