The Competition Tribunal (“Tribunal”) has unconditionally approved the proposed large merger whereby Sanlam Life Insurance Limited (“Sanlam Life”) intends to acquire shareholding in Sanlam Personal Loans (Pty) Ltd (“SPL”) as well as certain assets and employees associated with SPL.
 
Sanlam Life, a member of the Sanlam Group, is involved in the provision of loans for operational purposes and capital market transactions. The Sanlam Group, through various subsidiaries, conducts operations through four business clusters, namely: (i) insurance (life and general), (ii) financial planning, (iii) retirement and (iv) investment and wealth management. Of relevance to the proposed transaction are Sanlam’s activities relating to the provision of credit in South Africa.
 
SPL is a registered credit provider with the National Credit Regulator of South Africa. It provides unsecured personal loans to qualifying individuals and offers rewards for personal loans taken out with it through its monetary reward programme.
 

 
The Tribunal has approved, with conditions, the proposed large merger wherein Capitalworks Continental Holdings Partnership (“CCHP”) intends to acquire an interest in each of the following entities: (i) Continental Compounders (Pty) Ltd (“CC”) and (ii) Continental Engineering Compounds (Pty) Ltd (“CEC”), collectively referred to as “Continental”.
 
The Tribunal has approved the transaction with conditions relating to the merged entity establishing an employee share ownership scheme (“ESOP”) for the benefit of all employees of CC and CEC, including historically disadvantaged persons (“HDPs).
 
The Capitalworks Group is a mid-market private equity business based in Johannesburg. Investors include domestic and international institutional investors, commercial banks, insurance companies, pension funds, family offices and high net worth individuals. The Capitalworks Group invests in a diversified range of equity investments in mid-market companies operating principally in South Africa on behalf of its investors.
 
Continental is a specialist plastic compound manufacturer based in KwaZulu-Natal. It tests, develops and custom manufactures rigid and flexible polyvinyl chloride (“PVC”) and thermoplastic elastomer compounds, servicing markets in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. In 2017, Continental expanded its product offering to include engineering polymers, adding polypropylene, polyolefin, and nylon to its PVC range.