Anglo American PLC v Samancor Holdings Proprietary Limited and Others (019901) [2015] ZACT 2 (7 January 2015)

Anglo American PLC v Samancor Holdings Proprietary Limited and Others (019901) [2015] ZACT 2 (7 January 2015)

The Tribunal found that the transaction constitutes an acquisition of control as defined in section 12(2)(g) of the Competition Act, due to Anglo American acquiring additional governance rights over Samancor. The Commission's assessment established that there is no horizontal overlap in the parties' activities, as Anglo American's involvement in manganese is solely through its existing shareholding in Samancor. The transaction is unlikely to substantially prevent or lessen competition in any relevant market. Furthermore, the merging parties confirmed that there would be no adverse impact on employment or other public interest concerns. Accordingly, the Tribunal approved the transaction...

Citation
[2015] ZACT 2
Parties
Applicant: Anglo American PLC; Respondent: Samancor Holdings Proprietary Limited; Respondent: Groote Eylandt Mining Company Proprietary Limited; Respondent: Samancor AG
Court
Competition Tribunal
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
7 January 2015
Case Number
019901
Procedural Posture
Merger Control / Approval of Proposed Transaction
Outcome
The proposed transaction is approved unconditionally.
Judges
Andreas Wessels, Mondo Mazwai, Imraan Valodia
Legal Topics
Merger Control, Acquisition of Control, Public Interest, Horizontal Overlap, Competition Assessment
Competition Law Merger Control Acquisition of Control Public Interest Horizontal Overlap Competition Assessment

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 3 Authorities cited 1 Party arguments 2
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Anglo American PLC

Applicant

Samancor Holdings Proprietary Limited

Respondent

Groote Eylandt Mining Company Proprietary Limited

Respondent

Samancor AG

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Merger Control / Approval of Proposed Transaction

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Does the proposed transaction constitute an acquisition of control under section 12(2)(g) of the Competition Act?
  2. 2 Will the transaction substantially prevent or lessen competition in any relevant market?
  3. 3 Are there any adverse public interest effects, including on employment?.

Ratio Decidendi

The Tribunal found that the transaction constitutes an acquisition of control as defined in section 12(2)(g) of the Competition Act, due to Anglo American acquiring additional governance rights over Samancor. The Commission's assessment established that there is no horizontal overlap in the parties' activities, as Anglo American's involvement in manganese is solely through its existing shareholding in Samancor. The transaction is unlikely to substantially prevent or lessen competition in any relevant market. Furthermore, the merging parties confirmed that there would be no adverse impact on employment or other public interest concerns. Accordingly, the Tribunal approved the transaction...

Court Disposition

The proposed transaction is approved unconditionally.

Orders

  • The acquisition by Anglo American PLC of joint control over Samancor Holdings Proprietary Limited, Groote Eylandt Mining Company Proprietary Limited, and Samancor AG is approved unconditionally.