The ACCC has decided to oppose Yamaha Motor Australia Pty Ltd’s proposed acquisition of Telwater Pty Ltd. This decision follows an in-depth 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 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.
Telwater is the market leader, with a market share of approximately 60 per cent to 70 per cent in the manufacture and supply of aluminium trailer boats in Australia through its Quintrex, Stacer and Yellowfin brands. Yamaha is the leading supplier of outboard motors.
“This acquisition is likely to significantly disadvantage rival outboard motor suppliers in competing effectively with Yamaha,” ACCC Commissioner Dr Philip Williams said.
“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. This may arise by the combined Yamaha/Telwater requiring or incentivising dealers that stock Telwater aluminium trailer boats to also sell Yamaha outboard motors by adopting a bundling or tying strategy.”
“We are concerned that bundling or tying the supply of Telwater boats to Yamaha outboard motors would lead many dealers who currently sell Telwater aluminium trailer boats and non-Yamaha outboard motors to switch some or all of their outboard motor purchases to Yamaha,” Dr Williams said.
“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. 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.”
“This would have the likely effect of substantially lessening competition,” Dr Williams said.
The ACCC’s assessment principally focussed on the impact of the proposed acquisition on a national market for the wholesale supply of outboard motors in Australia. Competition concerns may also arise in specific local markets.
Further information can be found on the ACCC’s public register: Yamaha Motor Australia Pty Ltd – Telwater Pty Ltd | ACCC.
Notes to editors
‘Outboard motors’ are standalone systems that are installed to the outside hull of the boat, as opposed to inboard motors which are installed inside the boat’s hull and used for larger boats.
Trailer boats are small marine vessels that can be fitted to a trailer for easy transportation and generally range between two to nine metres in length. Trailer boats can be made from various materials, with the most common being aluminium or fibreglass.
Aluminium boats are primarily used for recreational boating in Australia. Aluminium boats are generally lighter, more durable and generally less expensive than fibreglass boats.
Aluminium boats and outboard motors are complementary products, often purchased by consumers together. The complementary nature of these products is highly relevant to the ACCC’s competition assessment, which tests whether the merged firm would have the ability and incentive to link the two products and the competitive effects of a linking strategy. Bundling and tying are two key ways products can be linked.
Bundling involves selling two (or more) products at a single price. This could involve the merged entity offering significant targeted discounts on Telwater boat/Yamaha motor packages to dealers, potentially combined with higher ‘standalone’ prices for Telwater boats. This practice would incentivise dealers to limit their sales of rival outboard motors.
Tying involves making the purchase of one product (the tying product) conditional on the purchase of another product (the tied product). This could involve the merged entity requiring dealers that purchase Telwater aluminium trailer boats to also become a Yamaha outboard motor dealer and contractually restricting the dealer from selling competing outboard motor brands.
More information on how the ACCC considers conglomerate effects can be found in section four of the ACCC’s Merger Assessment Guidelines.
Background
Yamaha is proposing to acquire 100 per cent of the shares of Telwater from Bombardier Recreation Products Inc (BRP), alongside a property in Coomera, Queensland used to manufacture, fit and warehouse aluminium trailer boats.
The ACCC previously outlined its preliminary concerns with the proposed acquisition in its Statement of Issues in October 2025.
Trailer boats are generally used for leisure activities, such as fishing and cruising. Recreational trailer boats typically use an outboard motor.
Yamaha Motor Company Ltd (YMC) manufactures outboard motors in Asia, primarily in Japan, which are then imported into Australia by its wholly owned subsidiary, Yamaha Motor Australia Pty Ltd (Yamaha). Yamaha supplies the outboard motors to dealers (retailers) Australia wide. Dealers then supply the outboard motors to end-customers.
Yamaha does not manufacture boats in Australia. YMC subsidiaries manufacture trailer boats overseas for various international markets. Yamaha and a related business have supplied a small number of these trailer boats to dealers in Australia, primarily via a third party Australian distributor. Yamaha also owns the trademarks for a small number of aluminium trailer boat and trailer brands, which were previously licensed to a third party manufacturer and are not currently in use. Yamaha does not supply trailers for boats in Australia.
Telwater manufactures aluminium trailer boats and trailers in Australia and supplies them to dealers, who then sell to end customers. Telwater currently supplies three lines of trailer boats: Quintrex, Stacer and Yellowfin branded boats.
Telwater supplies custom-fitted trailers that are sold together with its boats (branded under Telwater), or loose trailers (under the brand name ‘Move’) that can be used for any trailer boat. Telwater also supplies a limited number of outboard motors to dealers as part of a package with a Telwater boat and also potentially a trailer. Telwater is a non-exclusive distributor of Mercury outboard motors, with Mercury also supplying its outboard motors to dealers itself and via other wholesalers. Telwater also supplies a very small number of Rotax outboard motors (which are manufactured and distributed by BRP), as part of a package with some of its boats.