The Mergers and Acquisitions Department is responsible for administering the provisions of Section 35 of the Competition Act, 2007, which provides that a merger shall not be carried out without the authorisation of the Commission. The core function of the division is to investigate and analyse mergers and acquisitions to ascertain whether the transaction is likely to substantially lessen or prevent competition in the economy.

Merger means the acquisition of a controlling interest in any trade involved in the production or distribution of any goods or services; or an asset which is or may be utilised for or in connection with the production or distribution of any commodity. Mergers can occur through the purchase or lease or shares, an interest, or assets of another business, also through the amalgamation with another business.

All parties involved in a merger are responsible for notifying the transaction to the Commission. Mergers are classified as either small or large. A large merger is defined as a transaction in respect of which the parties’ combined assets or turnover is above E8 Million. In the case of large mergers, the filing fee is equal to (0.1%) of the combined annual turnover or assets value (whichever is greater) of the merging entities. The fee is calculated on the assets or turnover of the merging firms situated in and out of the country. However, this fee is capped at Six Hundred Thousand Emalangeni (E600,000.00).