Primedia, NAIL merger approved

According to an I-Net Bridge report, the decision was taken after the parties involved argued before the Tribunal that the conditions attached by the Commission would not pose post-merger control issues. ‘The merging parties asked the Tribunal to unconditionally approve the merger or alternatively to approve the merger subject to conditions they had tendered, which were a draft of the Commission\'s conditions but in their opinion less onerous,’ the Tribunal said. NAIL’s only significant asset is the 24.9% stake in Gauteng-based radio station Kaya FM – the main focus of concern. The Tribunal said: ‘We wish to make it quite clear that this decision simply approves the acquisition of control by Capricorn and Primedia over NAIL. It does not consider that there has been an indirect change of control in respect of Kaya, as NAIL never had such control and the merger will not change that position. However, if NAIL or Primedia ever acquires control over Kaya, it will be required to notify the Competition Commission as a merger assuming it meets the threshold of notification. As this is an obligation required by law there is no reason to make it a condition of the present merger,’ the Tribunal said. Full I-Net Bridge report

In other competition law news: Pressure is mounting on Mittal Steel SA over its pricing policies with yet another charge of excessive pricing having been referred to the Competition Tribunal. According to a Business Day report, relief sought against the steel giant by various parties who have cases pending before the Tribunal now add up to R1.85bn. A complaint brought by an Ekurhuleni-based company, Barnes Fencing Industries, and two of its affiliates over Mittal’s alleged abuse of market dominance has been found by the Competition Commission to have merit. The Commission said that the steel-maker’s conduct led to ‘substantial lessening of competition’ in the downstream industry. Full Business Day report