New Clicks South Africa (Pty) Ltd v Sharp Move Trading 107 (Pty) Ltd (106/LM/OCT08) [2009] ZACT 4 (14 January 2009)

New Clicks South Africa (Pty) Ltd v Sharp Move Trading 107 (Pty) Ltd (106/LM/OCT08) [2009] ZACT 4 (14 January 2009)

The Tribunal found that the proposed merger between New Clicks and Sharp Move would not result in any substantial lessening or prevention of competition in the relevant pharmaceutical market. The combined market share post-merger would be 6.4%, which is not significant enough to raise competition concerns. Furthermore, the vertical integration resulting from New Clicks supplying Sharp Move with pharmaceutical products does not raise foreclosure concerns, as Sharp Move's previous supplier is owned by its shareholders and there are many alternative suppliers in the market. The Tribunal also noted the absence of any public interest issues. Accordingly, the merger was approved without...

Citation
[2009] ZACT 4
Parties
Applicant: New Clicks South Africa (Pty) Ltd; Respondent: Sharp Move Trading 107 (Pty) Ltd
Court
Competition Tribunal
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
14 January 2009
Case Number
106/LM/OCT08
Procedural Posture
Merger Application / Approval
Outcome
Merger approved without conditions.
Judges
D Lewis, N Manoim, Y Carrim
Legal Topics
Horizontal Merger, Vertical Integration, Market Share Analysis, Foreclosure Concerns
Competition Law Commercial and Corporate Horizontal Merger Vertical Integration Market Share Analysis Foreclosure Concerns

Case Brief

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Parties

New Clicks South Africa (Pty) Ltd

Applicant

Sharp Move Trading 107 (Pty) Ltd

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Merger Application / Approval

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the proposed merger will substantially lessen or prevent competition in the relevant pharmaceutical market.
  2. 2 Whether the merger raises any foreclosure concerns due to vertical integration.
  3. 3 Whether there are any public interest issues arising from the merger.

Ratio Decidendi

The Tribunal found that the proposed merger between New Clicks and Sharp Move would not result in any substantial lessening or prevention of competition in the relevant pharmaceutical market. The combined market share post-merger would be 6.4%, which is not significant enough to raise competition concerns. Furthermore, the vertical integration resulting from New Clicks supplying Sharp Move with pharmaceutical products does not raise foreclosure concerns, as Sharp Move's previous supplier is owned by its shareholders and there are many alternative suppliers in the market. The Tribunal also noted the absence of any public interest issues. Accordingly, the merger was approved without...

Court Disposition

Merger approved without conditions.

Orders

  • The merger between New Clicks South Africa (Pty) Ltd and Sharp Move Trading 107 (Pty) Ltd is approved without conditions.