Billion Property Group Proprietary Limited v Bay West City Proprietary Limited (LM072AUG16) [2016] ZACT 83 (8 September 2016)

Billion Property Group Proprietary Limited v Bay West City Proprietary Limited (LM072AUG16) [2016] ZACT 83 (8 September 2016)

The Tribunal found that although there is a horizontal overlap in the provision of rentable retail space in comparable centres in the Eastern Cape, the geographic separation between the Acquiring Group's centre in Mthatha and the Target Property in Port Elizabeth (over 500 km apart) means that the properties do not constrain each other competitively. The Tribunal concurred with the Commission's conclusion that the proposed transaction is unlikely to substantially prevent or lessen competition in the relevant market. Furthermore, the merging parties confirmed that the transaction will have no negative effect on employment and raises no other public interest concerns. Accordingly, the...

Citation
[2016] ZACT 83
Parties
Applicant: Billion Property Group Proprietary Limited; Respondent: Bay West City Proprietary Limited; Respondent: Competition Commission
Court
Competition Tribunal
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
8 September 2016
Case Number
LM072AUG16
Procedural Posture
Merger Approval / Final Determination
Outcome
The proposed transaction is approved unconditionally.
Judges
AW Wessels, Medi Mokuena, Andiswa Ndoni
Legal Topics
Merger Control, Horizontal Overlap, Public Interest, Market Definition
Competition Law Commercial and Corporate Merger Control Horizontal Overlap Public Interest Market Definition

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Billion Property Group Proprietary Limited

Applicant

Bay West City Proprietary Limited

Respondent

Competition Commission

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Merger Approval / Final Determination

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the proposed acquisition of the remaining 50% shareholding in Bay West City by Billion Property Group will substantially prevent or lessen competition in the market for rentable retail space in the Eastern Cape.
  2. 2 Whether the transaction raises any public interest concerns, including negative effects on employment.

Ratio Decidendi

The Tribunal found that although there is a horizontal overlap in the provision of rentable retail space in comparable centres in the Eastern Cape, the geographic separation between the Acquiring Group's centre in Mthatha and the Target Property in Port Elizabeth (over 500 km apart) means that the properties do not constrain each other competitively. The Tribunal concurred with the Commission's conclusion that the proposed transaction is unlikely to substantially prevent or lessen competition in the relevant market. Furthermore, the merging parties confirmed that the transaction will have no negative effect on employment and raises no other public interest concerns. Accordingly, the...

Court Disposition

The proposed transaction is approved unconditionally.

Orders

  • The merger between Billion Property Group Proprietary Limited and Bay West City Proprietary Limited is approved without conditions.