Commission clears company acquisition, will revisit matter

The National Business

THERE is no competition issue with the acquisition of Laga Industries Ltd by Paradise Company Ltd (PCL), according to Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC).
Following the announcement of the acquisition in July 2018, ICCC conducted an independent investigation and sought information from PCL, including other market information available to it to complete its assessment of the acquisition.
ICCC commissioner and chief executive Paulus Ain said from their independent assessment, they identified and considered the relevant markets or the markets likely to be affected (directly and/or indirectly) by the acquisition to be:

  • The national manufacturing and wholesale markets for beverages;
  • The national wholesale market for bottled water;
  • The national manufacturing and wholesale markets for snacks; and,
  • The national manufacturing and wholesale markets for spices or condiments.

“The ICCC found that there are no serious competition issues in any of the identified markets and therefore will not intervene at this point in time,” Ain said.
He said the commission would revisit the matter if there was new information suggesting that the acquisition would give rise to anti-competition in the market.