Global Payments' proposed acquisition of School Bytes - stakeholder survey

Overview

The ACCC is seeking your views on the proposed acquisition of School Bytes Learning Pty Ltd (School Bytes) by Global Payments Australia 1 Pty Ltd (Global Payments) (the Proposed Acquisition).

Global Payments is a payments technology company and its subsidiary Sentral Pty Ltd (Sentral) supplies school administration software in Australia. School Bytes supplies school administration software in NSW.

The legal test which the ACCC applies in considering the proposed acquisition is in section 50 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. Section 50 prohibits acquisitions that are likely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.

In November 2022, the NSW Department of Education (the NSW DoE) established the Administration Marketplace Panel for Schools (the Panel). If a supplier is selected by the NSW DoE to be on the Panel, it can supply school administration software to NSW public schools.

Suppliers can be approved for different categories of software depending on their offerings. These software categories are:

• Student Administration software and School Management & Operations software (together, School Information Software or SIS)
• Timetabling
• Parent Communications & Consent, and
• Student Finance.

This matter is public, and you can forward this letter to anybody who may be interested.

Please provide your response by 23 February 2024.

Confidentiality

The ACCC treats sensitive information it receives during a merger review as confidential, and will not publish your information. We will not disclose the survey results to third parties (except our advisors/consultants) unless compelled by law (for example, under freedom of information legislation or during court proceedings) or in accordance with s155AAA of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. Where the ACCC is required to disclose confidential information, we will notify you in advance where possible so that you have an opportunity to be heard. Therefore please clearly indicate if any information you provide is confidential. Our Informal Merger Review Process Guidelines contain more information on confidentiality.

This survey is administered by Citizen Space, an online survey and consultation platform vetted for use by the ACCC. Data is securely stored in Australia and approved for use by government.