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ARTICLE · 01 APRIL 2009

New Merger Notification Thresholds - Good News For Business

Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa
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Since the inception of the Competition Commission in 1999 firms which meet certain turnover or asset values have had to notify the competition authorities of their intention to merge or face possible penalties of up to 10 per cent of their turnover and the prospect of having to unbundle their newly acquired business.

South AfricaAntitrust/Competition Law
Liza Niedermeier-Roussot
Liza Niedermeier-Roussot

Since the inception of the Competition Commission in 1999 firms which meet certain turnover or asset values have had to notify the competition authorities of their intention to merge or face possible penalties of up to 10 per cent of their turnover and the prospect of having to unbundle their newly acquired business.

The Minister of Trade and Industry recently gazetted new merger thresholds and fees effective from 1 April 2009. In terms of the new thresholds merging parties which have a combined annual turnover or assets below R560 million and where the annual turnover or asset value of the target firm is below R80 million will no longer have to notify the Competition Commission of their intention to merge as a matter of course. This is unless their proposed transaction is likely to impact negatively on competition in any of the markets in which the firms operate.

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