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The Tribunal will hear the proposed transaction whereby Lebashe Investment Group (Pty) Ltd (Lebashe) intends to acquire the Tiso Blackstar Group (Pty) Ltd (Tiso Blackstar), Rise Broadcast (Pty) Ltd (Rise) and Vuma 103 FM (Pty) Ltd (Vuma).
 
Lebashe is a 100% black-owned investment holding company with shares in companies that operate in the financial services, information and communications technology sectors. Lebashe is not controlled by any single shareholder or firm.
 
Tiso Blackstar Group operates in the print and digital media services sector as well as in broadcast and content services (Business Day TV, the Home Channel and Film and Production). Rise FM and Vuma FM are radio stations (businesses).   
 
Tiso Blackstar retrenched employees between June and August this year – and a further round of retrenchments is anticipated after the proposed merger. However, the merging parties say that the anticipated retrenchments are not merger-related and will be carried out irrespective of the proposed transaction.
 
The merging parties say the retrenchments are due to structural changes in the media industry, shifts in media consumption towards digitisation, weak economic activity, advertisers reducing their marketing spend, a decline in newspaper production volumes and a decline in revenue, among others.
 
The merging parties also submit that retrenchments are not unique to Tiso Blackstar and are affecting the South African media industry in general.

Tribunal to hear proposed merger in the market for the provision of asset management services

 
In this transaction a Canadian asset management company, Brookfield Asset Management Inc (Brookfield), seeks to acquire an American global asset manager, Oaktree Capital Group LLC (OCG).

Brookfield, co-listed on the New York Stock Exchange, owns and operates various assets in real estate, renewable power, infrastructure, private equity and public securities. Brookfield does not have any registered funds in South Africa but controls certain companies with operations in South Africa.
 
OCG, also listed on the New York Stock Exchange, manages asset portfolios in credit, private equity, real estate and listed equities. It controls three entities in South Africa which are active in retail and wholesale supply of sports/lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories. The company does not have registered funds in South Africa.
 
In its assessment of the proposed transaction, the Commission found that the merger presents no competition or public interest concerns. The only concern relates to the fulfilment of the second of two phases of the transaction within a stipulated time period. The Commission has recommended conditions to address this concern.

Failure to notify a merger in the provision of health services - Tribunal to hear settlement   

 
This matter stems from a failure to notify a merger (implementing a merger without obtaining approval from the competition authorities).
 
It involves a transaction in 2010 that saw Lenmed Health (Pty) Ltd increase its shareholding in the Lenmed eThekwini Hospital and Heart Centre (Pty) Ltd.
 
In January 2017, the parties approached the Commission for its view on whether the transaction had constituted a notifiable merger. The Commission found that the transaction had amounted to an intermediate merger that should have been formally notified in 2010.
 
A notice of an intermediate merger was subsequently filed with the Commission in June 2017. The Commission found that the merger did not raise any public interest or competition concerns and approved it without conditions. 
 
In terms of the settlement agreement to be heard by the Tribunal, the parties admit that they had contravened the Competition Act. They have agreed to pay an administrative penalty of R1 250 000.00 (one million two hundred and fifty thousand rand).
 

Commission, merging parties to make submissions over filing fee refund  

 
This is an application for a refund of a filing fee brought by Vresthena (Pty) Ltd and Dimas Family Trust in relation to an immediate merger notified to the Commission in November 2018.
 
The applicants are seeking a refund (75% of the filing fee paid to the Commission) in respect of the intermediate merger filing following the abandonment of the transaction.
 
The Commission is opposing the application.

Issued by The Competition tribunal