Telwater acquisition opposed by Australian regulator

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is opposing Yamaha Motor Australia Pty Ltd’s proposed acquisition of Telwater Pty Ltd from BRP saying it would lessen competition.

The decision follows an investigation that found the proposed acquisition is likely to result in a substantial lessening of competition in the wholesale supply of outboard motors in Australia.

The ACCC says it is concerned that the lessening of competition resulting from the proposed acquisition is likely to leave consumers with lower quality and higher prices, as well as fewer choices of outboard motor brands.

“This acquisition is likely to significantly disadvantage rival outboard motor suppliers in competing effectively with Yamaha,” said ACCC commissioner Dr Philip Williams.

“Our investigation found that a combined Yamaha/Telwater would likely have both the ability and incentive to leverage Telwater’s significant market position in aluminium trailer boats into the outboard motors market.”

The ACCC points out that Telwater has a market share of between 60% – 70% of the manufacture and supply of aluminium trailer boats in Australia through its Quintrex, Stacer and Yellowfin brands and Yamaha is the leading supplier of outboard motors.

And the ACCC says it is concerned a combined Yamaha/Telwater would require or incentivise dealers that stock Telwater aluminium trailer boats to also sell Yamaha outboard motors by adopting a bundling or tying strategy.

Wholesale sales

“As a result, competing outboard motor suppliers would likely face a material loss of wholesale sales and higher costs of distributing their products to end customers,” added Williams.

“Competing outboard motor suppliers that lose access to the Telwater dealer network would then likely face significant difficulty and increased costs in re-establishing or expanding their presence in Australia.”

The proposed acquisition of BRP’s Telwater brand was first announced in April 2025.