SPE Mid-Market Fund I Partnership v S Bacher and Company Proprietary Limited (LM158Dec23) [2024] ZACT 40 (7 March 2024)

SPE Mid-Market Fund I Partnership v S Bacher and Company Proprietary Limited (LM158Dec23) [2024] ZACT 40 (7 March 2024)

The Tribunal found that there are no horizontal or vertical overlaps between the activities of the acquiring and target firms, as none of the portfolio companies of the SPE Fund supply products or services substitutable with those of Bacher. There is no pre-existing relationship between the parties. The transaction will not result in any retrenchments, and employees have raised no concerns. The merger introduces historically disadvantaged persons shareholding into Bacher, which previously had none. The Tribunal concluded that the merger is unlikely to substantially prevent or lessen competition and does not raise any public interest concerns. Accordingly, the merger was approved...

Citation
[2024] ZACT 40
Parties
Applicant: SPE Mid-Market Fund I Partnership; Respondent: S Bacher and Company Proprietary Limited
Court
Competition Tribunal
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
7 March 2024
Case Number
LM158Dec23
Procedural Posture
Large Merger / Approval
Outcome
Merger approved unconditionally.
Judges
A Kessery, F Tregenna, A Ndoni
Legal Topics
Merger Control, Public Interest, Horizontal and Vertical Overlap, Hdp Shareholding
Competition Law Merger Control Public Interest Horizontal and Vertical Overlap Hdp Shareholding

Case Brief

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Parties

SPE Mid-Market Fund I Partnership

Applicant

S Bacher and Company Proprietary Limited

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Large Merger / 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 and spread of ownership.

Ratio Decidendi

The Tribunal found that there are no horizontal or vertical overlaps between the activities of the acquiring and target firms, as none of the portfolio companies of the SPE Fund supply products or services substitutable with those of Bacher. There is no pre-existing relationship between the parties. The transaction will not result in any retrenchments, and employees have raised no concerns. The merger introduces historically disadvantaged persons shareholding into Bacher, which previously had none. The Tribunal concluded that the merger is unlikely to substantially prevent or lessen competition and does not raise any public interest concerns. Accordingly, the merger was approved...

Court Disposition

Merger approved unconditionally.

Orders

  • The large merger between SPE Mid-Market Fund I Partnership and S Bacher and Company Proprietary Limited is approved unconditionally.