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OUTCOME OF CASES HEARD BY THE TRIBUNAL ON 19 DECEMBER 2018
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| Type of matter |
Parties involved |
Competition Commissions Recommendation to Tribunal |
Tribunal Decision |
| Large merger |
Rebel Packaging (Pty) Ltd and West Coast Paper Traders (Pty) Ltd |
Approve the merger without conditions |
Approved without conditions |
| Intermediate merger |
Joyson KSS Holdings No.2 S.A.R.L, Joyson KSS Auto Safety S.A and Takata Corporation |
Reconsider the Commission’s conditions to this merger |
Decision in due course |
| Large merger |
Robor (Pty) Ltd and Macsteel Service Centres South Africa (Pty) Ltd in respect of their tubes and pipes businesses |
Approve the merger with conditions |
Approved with conditions |
| Large merger |
Actis International Ltd and Abraaj Investment Management Ltd (in provisional liquidation) |
Approve the merger without conditions |
Approved without conditions |
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Paper packaging merger comes before the Competition Tribunal
In this transaction Rebel Packaging (Pty) Ltd, which is a subsidiary of Mpact Ltd, intends to increase its existing shareholding in West Coast Paper Traders (Pty) Ltd. Once the transaction is completed West Coast Paper Traders will become a subsidiary of Rebel Packaging and will ultimately be controlled by Mpact. Both parties are involved in the business of processing paper for various uses.
The Competition Commission, which assesses large mergers prior to referring them to the Competition Tribunal for its decision, considered this merger and concluded that it was unlikely to lessen competition significantly. The Commission therefore recommended that the Tribunal approve the deal without conditions.
The Tribunal heard this transaction on Wednesday and approved the merger without conditions.
Tribunal requested to overturn the Competition Commission’s merger conditions
In this transaction Joyson KSS Holdings No.2 S.A.R.L (Joyson) and Joyson KSS Auto Safety S.A (Joyson SA) intended to acquire complete control over Takata Corporation (Takata) however the Competition Commission, when deciding the merger, imposed a condition which the parties have now appealled to the Competition Tribunal.
Takata together with its local subsidiary Takata SA, are respondents in a complaint referral brought by the Commission for an alleged contravention of section 4(1)(b) of the Act in respect of tenders issued by various original equipment manufacturers of motor vehicles for the manufacture and supply of occupational safety systems component parts. These include airbags, seatbelts, and steering wheels that contain driver airbags. The Commission’s conditions on the merger aim to secure funds for a possible penalty that may result from its investigation against Takata and Takata SA.
The Competition Tribunal heard the matter on Wednesday and will issue its decision in due course.
Tubes and piping merger comes before the Tribunal
In this transaction Robor (Pty) Ltd (Robor) and Macsteel Service Centres South Africa (Pty) Ltd (Macsteel) intend to consolidate their tubes and pipes businesses. In terms of the structure of the business after the merger, both Robor and Macsteel will acquire some form of control over the tubes and pipes businesses of one another.
The proposed merger could raise employment concerns therefore the Competition Commission imposed conditions that would require the merged entity to honour all the existing and future collective agreements which are or would become binding upon the merging parties as at the approval date or in the future, as well as conditions that relate to the merging parties undertaking retrenchments and redeployment.
The Competition Tribunal heard the merger on Wednesday and approved it with conditions.
Private equity fund merger before the Tribunal
On Wednesday the Competition Tribunal heard the proposed merger, in terms of which Actis International intends to acquire Abraaj Investment in respect of several private equity funds, and approved the transaction without conditions.
The Actis Group is a global private equity investor and has interests in the consumer, healthcare, financial services, industrial, energy, education and real estate sectors. It has investments in emerging markets in Africa including South Africa, China, India, Latin America and South East Asia.
In South Africa, Abraaj Investment manages private equity funds: AAF III and APEF IV. AAF III controls Joint Medical Holdings (Pty) Ltd (JMH). JMH is a progressive healthcare organisation which operates a number of hospitals and health care centres as well as a nursing learning centres.
The Competition Commission which assesses large mergers prior to referring them to the Competition Tribunal for its decision, considered this merger and concluded that it was unlikely to lessen competition significantly. The Commission therefore recommended that the Tribunal approve the deal without conditions.
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Nandi Mokoena
Acting Communications Officer
Tel: (0) 12 394 1383
Cell: +27 (0) 82 399 1328
Twitter: @comptrib
E-Mail: NandisileM@live.co.za |
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