Fairfax Media's ownership of Riverina Media Group is free and clear, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission stated Tuesday.

Fairfax will not be forced to offload the regional publisher, or sell assets in areas where it operates, The Sydney Morning Herald reported Wednesday.

The decision came after the commission, Australia's competition watchdog, asked for market submissions to decide whether the acquisition would mean one publisher would be in charge of all relevant agricultural publications in the greater Riverina region and southern New South Wales, which would give Fairfax the power to dictate advertising prices, The Herald reported.

Rural Press bought Riverina in May for $64.5 million, just before it merged with Fairfax.

“The ACCC does not consider that the acquisition will allow Rural Press/Fairfax to profitably raise advertising rates or diminish the quality of content for these publications,” Graeme Samuel, the chairman of the commission, is quoted as saying by The Herald.

Should Fairfax make a move to exploit its market dominance, agricultural businesses could switch to small and medium-sized publishers, the competition regulator told The Herald.