Accelerate Property Fund Limited v Old Mutual Life Insurance Company (South Africa) Limited in respect of the Portside Building (LM156Oct15) [2015] ZACT 73 (2 December 2015)

Accelerate Property Fund Limited v Old Mutual Life Insurance Company (South Africa) Limited in respect of the Portside Building (LM156Oct15) [2015] ZACT 73 (2 December 2015)

The Tribunal found that the activities of the merging parties overlap horizontally in the provision of rentable grade A office properties in the Cape Town CBD and rentable retail property. However, there was no geographic overlap in retail property, and the post-merger market share for grade A office property in the Cape Town CBD would be less than 20%. The presence of several alternative competitors in the market would constrain the merged entity. Tenants contacted did not raise concerns, and no adverse impact on employment or other public interest issues was identified. Therefore, the Tribunal concluded that the proposed transaction is unlikely to substantially prevent or lessen...

Citation
[2015] ZACT 73
Parties
Applicant: Accelerate Property Fund Limited; Respondent: Old Mutual Life Assurance Company (South Africa) Limited in respect of the Portside Building
Court
Competition Tribunal
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
2 December 2015
Case Number
LM156Oct15
Procedural Posture
Merger Control / Approval
Outcome
The proposed transaction is approved unconditionally.
Judges
Andreas Wessels, lmraan Valodia, Medi Mokuena
Legal Topics
Merger Control, Horizontal Overlap, Market Share Analysis, Public Interest, Employment Impact
Competition Law Merger Control Horizontal Overlap Market Share Analysis Public Interest Employment Impact

Case Brief

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Parties

Accelerate Property Fund Limited

Applicant

Old Mutual Life Assurance Company (South Africa) Limited in respect of the Portside Building

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Merger Control / Approval

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the proposed merger will substantially prevent or lessen competition in any relevant market.
  2. 2 Whether the transaction raises any public interest concerns, including employment impact.

Ratio Decidendi

The Tribunal found that the activities of the merging parties overlap horizontally in the provision of rentable grade A office properties in the Cape Town CBD and rentable retail property. However, there was no geographic overlap in retail property, and the post-merger market share for grade A office property in the Cape Town CBD would be less than 20%. The presence of several alternative competitors in the market would constrain the merged entity. Tenants contacted did not raise concerns, and no adverse impact on employment or other public interest issues was identified. Therefore, the Tribunal concluded that the proposed transaction is unlikely to substantially prevent or lessen...

Court Disposition

The proposed transaction is approved unconditionally.

Orders

  • The merger between Accelerate Property Fund Limited and Old Mutual Life Assurance Company (South Africa) Limited in respect of the Portside Building is approved unconditionally.