There is a tension between the interests of the Competition
Commission and commercial entities involved in merger transactions.
For various policy reasons, the Commission is eager to cast its net
wide and consider and investigate as many merger transactions as
possible. Commercial entities, on the other hand, would prefer not
to have to jump through the regulatory hoops required by a merger
notification and would just like to get on with the business of
deal making. Therefore, the recent attempt by the Commission to
have a small merger classified as a large should be of concern to
business. Fortunately, the decision of the Competition Tribunal in
Tiger Equity Proprietary Limited and Murray & Roberts
Proprietary Limited v Competition Commission, Case No. 019174
provides some welcome certainty on this issue.
