Staff Writer
The Namibian Competition Commission (NaCC) has approved 19 merger transactions, with five receiving conditional approval to address competition and public interest concerns.
The decisions were made at the commission’s board meeting on 28 July following assessments conducted under the Competition Act.
Fourteen of the transactions were approved without conditions, while the five conditional approvals involved the pharmaceutical wholesale, marble and granite, agricultural land, pork production and investment holding sectors.
CFAO Healthcare Société Anonyme’s acquisition of Nampharm(Pty) Ltd was approved subject to measures aimed at preventing possible input foreclosure in the pharmaceutical wholesale market.
The merged entity is required to supply scheduled medicines on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, maintain equivalent pricing and service levels, and use objective procedures for stock allocation.
It must also safeguard commercially sensitive information and establish a complaints resolution mechanism.
The acquisition involving Namibia Marble and Granite (Pty) Ltd and Xclusive Marble Processing (Pty) Ltd by Marble Hill Investments (Pty) Ltd was approved subject to conditions covering employment, skills development, local value addition and environmental obligations.
The merged entity must maintain employment levels and refrain from merger-specific retrenchments for three years.
It is also required to implement skills development and job-shadowing programmes for Namibian employees, prioritise domestic processing and beneficiation, and comply with environmental rehabilitation requirements.
Ironclad Trading Enterprises (Pty) Ltd’s transaction involving Namibia Estate Enterprises (Pty) Ltd was also approved with conditions.
The undertaking may not implement merger-specific retrenchments for three years without prior approval from the commission.
The conditions further require skills development, capacity-building and job-shadowing programmes for Namibian employees, as well as compliance with applicable agricultural land reform legislation and reporting requirements.
In the pork sector, the acquisition of Number Two Piggeries (Pty) Ltd by N2 Group Holdings (Pty) Ltd was approved subject to conditions intended to protect local pork production, employment and industry development.
The merged entity must maintain local production capacity, limit imports that could substitute locally produced pork and support emerging and small-scale pig producers through development programmes.
It must also implement employee skills development initiatives and refrain from merger-specific retrenchments for three years.
The fifth conditional approval involved Muller Familie Nam Trust and Danla Trust’s acquisition involving Tulongeni Holdings (Proprietary) Limited.
The conditions are aimed at preserving employment protections associated with the related Tulongeni and B-One transaction.
The commission said the conditions are intended to ensure that the existing prohibition on merger-specific retrenchments remains in place despite the change in ownership, while maintaining employment security and continuity.
Among the 14 transactions approved without conditions were transactions involving Korridor Namibia and Korridor Fuel Namibia; BP Namibia Energy and Azinam Group/Eco Oil & Gas Namibia; Carican Holdings Namibia and Rundu Private Hospital Group; Oryx Properties and Kalahari Expeditions/Zeal Properties; RCL Group Services and Martin & Martin; and BWCAM Limited and Andrada Investments.
Other unconditional approvals involved transactions relating to Namibia Estate Enterprises, Farmhouse Deli and Store, Korridor Holdings, Erf 3600 Walvis Bay, EOEC Group, sectional properties, Farm Emmarentia, Everllence SE and other entities.
The commission said its merger review process is intended to safeguard effective competition while ensuring that transactions do not adversely affect competition, employment, consumer welfare or other public interest considerations.
It said the process also seeks to facilitate investment and economic growth while maintaining competitive and inclusive market structures.
