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OUTCOME OF CASES HEARD BY THE TRIBUNAL ON 7 NOVEMBER 2018
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| Type of matter |
Parties involved |
Competition Commissions Recommendation to Tribunal |
Tribunal Decision |
| Large merger |
NewDisc Limited (Discovery Bank) and Card Transfer Business |
Approve the merger without conditions |
Approved without conditions |
| Large merger |
Philafrica Foods (Pty) Ltd and Sunshine Bakery Holdings (Pty) Ltd |
Approve the merger without conditions |
Approved without conditions |
| Large merger |
Globeleq South Africa Holdings (Pty) Ltd And SA Springbok Holdings (Pty) Ltd, Sunedison Firefly Holding (Pty) Ltd, Sunedison Renewable Energy Holding (Pty) Ltd and Terraform Global Africa Operating (Pty) Ltd |
Approve the merger without conditions |
Awaiting further submissions |
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Competition Tribunal approves Discovery Bank transaction
Earlier today the Competition Commission requested the Competition Tribunal to approve a merger in terms of which NewDisc Ltd intends to purchase the “Discovery” branded cards business of First National Bank (FNB), which is also referred to as ‘the card transfer business’.
Once the transaction is implemented, NewDisc will control the card transfer business.
NewDisc, which now trades as Discovery Bank, is a newly established firm held by Discovery Purple Holdings (Pty) Ltd. Discovery Purple is controlled by Discovery Limited.
The Discovery Group is a shared value insurance group with operations across the world including South Africa, Europe, the United States and China. The card transfer business is a division of FirstRand Bank Limited which is active in the financial services sector.
Prior to this proposed merger FNB administered and managed Discovery branded credit and fuel cards while Vitality marketed the cards to clients of the Discovery group of companies. However, NewDisc has since acquired a banking license which necessitated a buy-back of the card transfer business from FNB.
The Competition Commission, which assesses large mergers before referring them to the Tribunal for its decision, evaluated the transaction and concluded that it was unlikely to raise competition concerns. The Commission recommended that the Tribunal approve the deal without conditions and, after hearing the parties earlier today, the Tribunal approved the merger without conditions.
Philafrica Foods looks to acquire stake in bakery business
Earlier today the Competition Tribunal heard the proposed merger between Philafrica Foods (Pty) Ltd and Sunshine Bakery Holdings (Pty) Ltd. Once the transaction is implemented, Philafrica and Sunshine Bakery Investment (Pty) Ltd will have joint control over Sunshine Bakery Holdings.
Philafrica is an investment company involved in food processing and the operation of maize mills, wheat mills, refining plants and animal feeds manufacturing amongst other things. It is controlled by AFGRI Group Holdings (Pty) Ltd. Sunshine Holdings controls Scenic Route Trading 412 (Pty) Ltd and Sunshine Bakery Durban (Pty) Ltd which operate as bakeries that sell bread, rolls and confectionaries supplied to customers in Kwa-Zulu Natal such Spar, Checkers, convenience stores and informal trading stores.
The Competition Commission, which assesses large mergers before referring them to the Tribunal for its decision, evaluated the transaction and concluded that it was unlikely to raise competition concerns. The Commission recommended that the Tribunal approve the deal without conditions. After hearing the parties earlier today, the Tribunal approved the merger without conditions.
Tribunal requires further submissions in the power plant transaction
Earlier today the Competition Tribunal heard the parties to the proposed merger, in terms of which Globeleq SA intends to acquire SA Springbok, SunEdison Firefly, SunEdison Renewable and TGAO (the target firms), and requested further submissions before issuing its decision in the matter. The Competition Commission previously recommended that the merger be approved without conditions.
Globeleq SA does not have any activities as it is a newly incorporated firm. Globeleq Africa is an independent power producer that develops, owns and operates power plants across Africa. In South Africa, Globeleq Africa has controlling interests in two solar power plants and one wind power plant.
Apart from TerraForm Global, the target firms are holding companies incorporated as local shareholders of the several power producing projects in South Africa. This includes South Solar Power Plant is a 31MW photovoltaic facility located in the Limpopo Province; Witkop Solar Power Plant is a 33MW photovoltaic facility located in the Limpopo Province; Boshof Solar Power Plant is a 66MW photovoltaic facility located in the Free State Province; Aries Solar Power Plant is a 10MW photovoltaic facility located in the Northern Cape; Konkoonsies Solar Power Plant is a 10MW photovoltaic facility located in the Northern Cape; and Klipheuwel Wind Power Plant is a 27MW wind farm located in the Western Cape.
The Commission assessed the transaction and concluded that the proposed transaction was unlikely to cause a substantial prevention or lessening of competition in the relevant markets. The Commission further found that the proposed transaction did not raise any public interest concerns hence it 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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