Tribunal approves merger involving acquisition of certain Cell C assets 
 

The Tribunal has conditionally approved the merger whereby Gatsby Security SPV (Pty) Ltd (Gatsby) will acquire certain assets of the South African mobile network operator, Cell C Limited (Cell C).
 
Gatsby is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) established for the purposes of this transaction. It will be controlled by a Trust that is yet to be formed.
 
In assessing the proposed transaction, the Competition Commission (the Commission) noted that the merging parties are currently not able to indicate which trustees will be appointed to the Trust that will control Gatsby. The Commission was of the view that this may raise competition concerns i.e. anti-competitive information exchange, should the trustees appointed to the Trust include individuals from firms that compete with Cell C.
 
The conditions to the merger seek to remedy these concerns and potential overlaps. 

Daimler Truck’s acquisition of Ukuvela holdings approved by Tribunal

Daimler Truck AG (Daimler Truck) will acquire Ukuvela Holdings (Pty) Ltd (Ukuvela Holdings) after the transactions was approved by the Tribunal. The merger, approved without conditions, means that Daimler Truck will wholly own and control Ukuvela Holdings and its subsidiaries.
 
Daimler Truck is a wholly owned subsidiary of the German company, Daimler AG. Daimler controls numerous entities locally, including Mercedes-Benz SA Ltd and Sandown Motor Holdings. The Daimler Group develops, manufactures and distributes products and services in the automotive sector on a global scale – primarily passenger cars, trucks, vans and buses. 
 
Ukuvela Holdings is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ardan Livvey Investors B.V. (Ardan Livvey), a limited liability company incorporated in the Netherlands. Ukuvela Holdings owns Ukuvela Properties. Ukuvela Holdings, through Atlantis, operates a metal foundry which manufactures and sells cast iron engine blocks for heavy-duty trucks.

Tribunal approves acquisition involving international carboxymethyl cellulose manufacturers

This transaction, whereby Nouryon Chemicals International B.V (Nouryon) will acquire all the issued shares in CP Kelco Oy (CP Kelco), has been approved by the Tribunal without conditions.
 
Nouryon, incorporated and headquartered in the Netherlands, is controlled by The Carlyle Group, a global asset manager. Nouryon is a global manufacturer and supplier of specialty chemicals such as salt, chlorine and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). It supplies CMC to the building and construction, food, healthcare and personal care industries, among others. Nouryon mainly supplies the South African market with technical grade CMC.
 
CP Kelco, a Finnish firm, is ultimately controlled by the JM Huber Corporation. From its Finnish facility, CP Kelco manufactures and distributes a complete line of CMC grades to customers in over 80 countries. CP Kelco does not have manufacturing facilities in South Africa. Most of its sales in South Africa are from purified CMC.

 

Issued by The Competition Tribunal