<p>Patrick Corp is expected to hear tomorrow (Wednesday, March 15) if it will get the go-ahead from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to take over FCL Interstate Transport Services. </p> <p>Patrick and FCL first announced a merger last May, but the ACCC overturned the proposal in September. </p> <p>Patrick then agreed to an option to preserve its bid for FCL for a later date. </p> <p>Patrick plans to use FCL’s rail forwarding business and a number of new IT-based systems as the centrepiece of a competing and more effective logistics business model which it hopes will be more attractive to shareholders than the Toll Holdings takeover offer. </p> <p>With Pacific National expected to split in ownership regardless of the outcome of the Patrick and Toll battle, the ACCC’s original fear of collusion between the two warring joint venture partners appears to have faded. </p> <p>The ACCC will not allow Toll, Patrick and FCL to be combined and Toll has already undertaken to unwind the deal if it succeeds in taking over Patrick. </p> <br />
