The Tribunal will consider the proposed transaction whereby Gatsby Security SPV (Pty) Ltd (Gatsby) seeks to 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 Commission noted that the merging parties are currently not able to indicate which trustees will be appointed to the Trust that will control Gatsby SPV.
 
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 Commission therefore imposed a remedy to guard against anti-competitive exchange of information and potential overlaps and recommended to the Tribunal that the proposed merger be approved with conditions.
 
 

Daimler Truck in bid to acquire Ukuvela holdings 

 
In this proposed merger, Daimler Truck AG (Daimler Truck) seeks to acquire Ukuvela Holdings (Pty) Ltd (Ukuvela Holdings). Post-merger, 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., 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.
 
The Commission, which assesses large mergers before referring them to the Tribunal for a decision, found that the proposed merger does not raise any competition or public interest concerns. The Commission therefore recommended approval without conditions.
 
 

Tribunal to hear proposed acquisition involving international manufacturers of carboxymethyl cellulose 

 
This is an international transaction whereby Nouryon Chemicals International B.V (Nouryon) seeks to acquire all the issued shares in CP Kelco Oy (CP Kelco).
 
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.
 
The Commission found that the proposed merger is unlikely to result in a substantial prevention or lessening of competition in the supply of CMC market in South Africa. In addition, it found no public interest concerns as the merging parties have no employees in South Africa. The Commission therefore recommended to the Tribunal that the merger be approved without conditions. 
 

 

Issued by The Competition Tribunal