Australian keg business acquisition becomes a competition concern
Australia’s competition regulator has outlined concerns over MicroStar buying up the assets of the recently failed keg firm Konvoy.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has started scrutinising the merger between keg services company MicroStar, which operates as Kegstar in the country, and Konvoy which entered into administration and receivership earlier this year.
According to the ACCC, both companies provide keg pooling services, allowing brewers to rent kegs from a shared pool on a short-term basis to supply beers and RTDs to customers. However, issues stem from the proposed buyout since it would combine the only two providers of keg pooling services in Australia.
MicroStar was originally incorporated in the US and has operations in the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. It had actually entered the Australian market back in 2021 via the acquisition of the Kegstar business, which was founded by Adam Trippe-Smith, from Brambles Limited.
Trippe-Smith had founded Konvoy in 2019 after having left Kegstar and began offering keg pooling services, but Kegstar also started to offer keg pooling services and competition between teh businesses intensified. After entering voluntary administration, Konvoy undertook a sales process in which MicroStar was successful.
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Last month, MicroStar also sent a clearance application to the Commerce Commission in an effort to ready its acquisition of Konvoy New Zealand’s assets.
Speaking about the situation, ACCC commissioner Philip Williams said: “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.”
A recent ACCC survey has reflected how alternatives to keg pooling services, such as key leasing or ownership, are not a close substitute and also other businesses are unlikely to start supplying keg pooling services in competition which could tie up the market.
Williams added: “Our preliminary view is that the proposed acquisition is likely to substantially lessen competition in the supply of keg pooling services in Australia.”
The ACCC invites submissions from interested parties in response to the Statement of Issues by 28 August 2025.
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Forget returnable kegs and put flat beer in bag in box packing. Then carbonate the beer on its way from the bag in box to the tap. That way you save 66% of your CO2 and your distribution costs drop dramatically. This also works for wine and cider. You can also carbonate and then nitrogenate if you want a nitrogenated product.