ACCC approves Iron Mountain's $3.4bn takeover

US information management provider Iron Mountain has crossed another hurdle in its proposed acquisition of ASX-listed Recall Holdings.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced that it will not oppose the $3.4 billion deal, which was signed in June 2015.

It comes after the ACCC decided to accept a recent court-enforceable undertaking from Iron Mountain to sell most of its Australian business.

ACCC chairman Rod Sims said the watchdog was concerned that the takeover would otherwise “have been likely to substantially lessen competition” for physical document management services.

“Recall is currently Iron Mountain’s closest competitor for physical document storage,” he said.

“By combining these two companies, the proposed acquisition could have left customers vulnerable to price increases or reduced service levels in a market where there are high costs to switch providers.”

However, Iron Mountain’s proposed divestments would effectively unwind the takeover in the markets of concern, added Sims.

Iron Mountain promised to sell its entire Australian arm, except its local records management customers in the Northern Territory and its data management business.

The Boston-headquartered company has operations in every Australian state and territory, while Recall is represented everywhere except the Northern Territory.

Competition authorities in the US, the UK and Canada are also looking into the deal, which is expected to complete around 2 May.

In further good news for Iron Mountain, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has approved the company’s request for consent to close the anticipated acquisition before regulatory clearance, subject to certain ‘hold separate’ commitments.