Tribunal approves merger involving Imperial’s acquisition of
J&J Group and Greendoor Group

The Tribunal has unconditionally approved the merger whereby Imperial Logistics Limited (“Imperial”), through its wholly owned subsidiary, Imperial Capital Limited (“Imperial Capital”), intends to acquire Lift Logistics Holdco (“J&J Group”) and its subsidiary, Greendoor Group (Pty) Ltd (“Greendoor”). Post-merger, Imperial will control J&J Group and Greendoor.
 
The Tribunal has concluded that the merger is unlikely to substantially prevent or lessen competition in any relevant market. Furthermore, it raises no public interest concerns.
 
Merger parties
 
Imperial is not controlled by any single firm or individual as its shares are widely held. Imperial Capital is an investment holding company that controls several operational subsidiaries across the Southern Africa Development Community (“SADC”) region. The acquiring group’s market access activities enable clients to reach their customers and consumers through sourcing sales, distribution and marketing. Through its logistics operations it manages the movement of goods on behalf of clients between specified locations.
 
J&J Group is a Mauritian firm and Greendoor is a South African firm. The target group provides transport to port agency services and warehousing, specialising in international transportation between Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, South Africa and the Eastern DRC. In South Africa, the target group’s only subsidiary is Greendoor, which transports cargo from Durban and Richards Bay in South Africa to Zimbabwe, Zambia and the DRC (and vice versa).
 
Competition and public interest assessment
 
The Tribunal agrees with the Competition Commission’s (“the Commission”) conclusion that the merger is unlikely to lead to a substantial prevention or lessening of competition in any relevant market.
 
The Commission found that while the merger parties both offer cross-border transportation services, they have different focus areas. The acquiring group focuses on logistics services to automotive, chemical, healthcare fastmoving consumer goods and fuel companies’ customers, while the target group focuses on transporting mineral ores between South Africa and SADC countries. In addition, the acquiring group focuses on transporting goods in the domestic market while the target group has no presence in the local market and transports mineral ores on cross-border routes. The merger parties also focus on different types of customers.
 
The merger raises no public interest concerns. The merger will have a positive impact on the promotion of the spread of ownership by historically disadvantaged persons (HDPs) through the acquiring group’s HDP shareholding.