Kenya Competition (General) Rules, 2019 And Merger Threshold Guidelines In Effect

On 6 December 2019, the Kenyan Competition (General) Rules, 2019 (General Rules), containing the Merger Threshold Guidelines (Threshold Guidelines) and a new merger notification form, were gazetted and are now in effect pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Instruments Act, 2013.

Significant changes resulting from the adoption of the Threshold Guidelines are:

• no further requirement to notify a merger to the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) where the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Merger Notification Thresholds are met;
• no further requirement to notify a merger to the CAK where the Kenya merger thresholds (see below) are not met; and
• in line with international standards, consideration of the higher of turnover or asset value for purposes of threshold calculations.