The Competition Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) has unconditionally approved the proposed large merger whereby Ivlyn Consolidated Holdings (Pty) Ltd (“Ivlyn”) will acquire Fairy Tales Boutiques (Pty) Ltd and Somerset Baby Hyper (Pty) Ltd trading as “Baby City” and Global Toys (Pty) Ltd which trades as “ToyZone”.
 
The Tribunal considered submissions, made during virtual (online) proceedings, by the merger parties as well as the Competition Commission (“the Commission”), which investigates proposed large mergers before referring such to the Tribunal for consideration.
 
The Commission recommended the unconditional approval on account of the limited competitive overlap between the merger parties’ business activities and their relatively low combined market shares in the retail sale of baby and mother care products. The Commission’s investigation revealed that the merged entity will continue to face competition from numerous players active in the market for the supply of baby and mother care products.
 
The Tribunal is of the view that the proposed merger does not raise any competition or public interest concerns and has therefore approved the transaction without conditions.
 
Merger parties
 
Ivlyn, a designated holding company, controls, among others, Dis-Chem Pharmacies Limited.
 
Baby City is a specialist store supplying a wide array of products catering for moms-to-be, babies and toddlers. It operates various stores throughout the country.
 
ToyZone is a specialist toy store which stocks and supplies toys, games and activities-related products which cater for both children and adults. It operates numerous outlets in South Africa.