March 18 (Reuters) - Australia's competition watchdog said on...

March 18 (Reuters) - Australia's competition watchdog said on Friday it will not pursue any action at this stage on logistics firm Qube Holdings' (QUB) acquisition of a bulk grain terminal at the Port of Newcastle in New South Wales, but would remain vigilant on its impact on the industry.

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission's (ACCC) investigation into Qube's A$90 million ($66.39 million) purchase of the Newcastle Agri Terminal (NAT) found the deal was unlikely to substantially lessen competition, considering Qube could benefit from rival deliveries.

"If Qube limits deliveries from rival rail services, it will likely lose volume and revenue from its terminal," ACCC Commissioner Stephen Ridgeway said https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-to-monitor-effect-of-qubes-acquisition-of-newcastle-agri-terminal.

However, the competition regulator remained "concerned with potential impacts on the supply chain for bulk grain export through the Port of Newcastle", and will continue to monitor any effects and developments in the sector.

"The ACCC is conscious that market conditions can change quickly, and we will continue to keep a eye on any bundling and its effects," Ridgeway added.

Qube, one of Australia's top import and export logistics services provider, completed the acquisition of NAT, one of two bulk grain terminals at the Port of Newcastle, in September last year https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-investigates-qubes-completed-acquisition-of-newcastle-agri-terminal despite requests from ACCC to delay the completion to conduct an investigation.

($1 = 1.3556 Australian dollars) (([email protected]; Twitter: https://twitter.com/sameer_manekar))