The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has flagged preliminary concerns that MicroStar’s proposed purchase of the assets of Konvoy could substantially reduce competition in the country’s keg-pooling market.
The ACCC published a Statement of Issues on Thursday setting out its worries about the transaction, which would see MicroStar — which trades as Kegstar in Australia — acquire Konvoy while the latter is in voluntary administration and receivership.
“The proposed acquisition would combine the only two providers of keg pooling services in Australia,” ACCC Commissioner Dr Philip Williams said.
Keg pooling allows brewers to rent kegs from a shared pool on a short‑term basis. Both MicroStar and Konvoy offer these services, as well as related keg leasing options. The ACCC says market feedback indicates alternatives such as key leasing or ownership are not close substitutes and that other businesses are unlikely to enter the market to provide pooling services.
“Many craft breweries appear to be reliant on keg pooling services to supply pubs and bars beyond local areas, and they are likely to have neither the ability nor the incentive to invest to self-supply and manage a fleet of kegs”.
The regulator’s preliminary view is that the merger would be likely to “substantially lessen competition in the supply of keg pooling services in Australia,” Dr Williams said.
Under section 50 of the Competition and Consumer Act, the ACCC assesses whether an acquisition would have the effect, or be likely to have the effect, of substantially lessening competition. The law applies even when one party to the deal is in administration or receivership, the ACCC noted.
MicroStar is a US‑incorporated keg services company with operations in the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. It entered the Australian market in 2021 through the acquisition of Kegstar from Brambles Limited. Kegstar was founded in 2012 by Adam Trippe‑Smith, who left to found Konvoy in 2019 — shortly before Kegstar began offering pooling services itself.
Konvoy was placed in voluntary administration on 11 March 2025, when FTI Consulting and McGrathNicol were appointed administrators and receivers respectively. Receivers ran a sale process in which MicroStar was the successful bidder.
The ACCC has invited submissions from interested parties in response to the Statement of Issues by 28 August 2025. More information is available on the ACCC’s public register.
