Section 12A(3)(e) of the Competition Act 89 of 1998 (as amended) (the "Competition Act"), requires competition authorities to consider whether a proposed transaction promotes a greater spread of ownership by historically disadvantaged persons and workers. Where a transaction falls short, competition authorities have sought to impose Employee Share Ownership Plans ("ESOPs") as conditions of approval, seeking to remedy any adverse impact on ownership. Against this backdrop, the Competition Commission (the "Commission") recently published an impact study (the "Study") examining whether these mandated ESOPs genuinely deliver meaningful ownership and financial benefit to workers, or whether they amount to a form of pseudo-ownership that fails to realise the intended value for workers and firms alike. The Study reviewed fifteen ESOPs mandated by merger remedies between FY2019/20 and FY2022/23 across various sectors including agriculture, mining, retail and fintech, drawing on submissions
