Robor Proprietary Limited and Steel Tube and Pipe Business of Barloworld Robor (Pty) Ltd (87/LM/Oct06) [2006] ZACT 91 (5 December 2006)

Robor Proprietary Limited and Steel Tube and Pipe Business of Barloworld Robor (Pty) Ltd (87/LM/Oct06) [2006] ZACT 91 (5 December 2006)

The Tribunal found that the proposed merger would not result in any change to the current market structure, as Robor is a shelf company with no trading history and the First Rand Group has no interests in the steel industry. There is no overlap in the activities of the merging parties. The transaction is a management buy-out, with joint control acquired by senior management and RMBV. The Tribunal concluded that the merger is unlikely to substantially prevent or lessen competition in the relevant market. Furthermore, there are no job losses or other significant public interest concerns arising from the transaction. Accordingly, the merger was unconditionally approved.

Citation
[2006] ZACT 91
Parties
Applicant: Robor (Pty) Ltd; Respondent: Steel Tube and Pipe Business of Barloworld Robor (Pty) Ltd
Court
Competition Tribunal
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
5 December 2006
Case Number
87/LM/Oct06
Procedural Posture
Merger Approval / Reasons for Approval
Outcome
Merger unconditionally approved.
Judges
D Lewis, N Manoim, Y Carrim
Legal Topics
Merger Control, Public Interest, Market Structure, Joint Control
Competition Law Merger Control Public Interest Market Structure Joint Control

Case Brief

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Parties

Robor (Pty) Ltd

Applicant

Steel Tube and Pipe Business of Barloworld Robor (Pty) Ltd

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Merger Approval / Reasons for Approval

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the proposed merger would substantially prevent or lessen competition in the relevant market.
  2. 2 Whether any significant public interest issues arise from the transaction.

Ratio Decidendi

The Tribunal found that the proposed merger would not result in any change to the current market structure, as Robor is a shelf company with no trading history and the First Rand Group has no interests in the steel industry. There is no overlap in the activities of the merging parties. The transaction is a management buy-out, with joint control acquired by senior management and RMBV. The Tribunal concluded that the merger is unlikely to substantially prevent or lessen competition in the relevant market. Furthermore, there are no job losses or other significant public interest concerns arising from the transaction. Accordingly, the merger was unconditionally approved.

Court Disposition

Merger unconditionally approved.

Orders

  • The proposed merger between Robor (Pty) Ltd and the Steel Tube and Pipe business of Barloworld Robor (Pty) Ltd is unconditionally approved.